Apple Integrates Foveated Streaming into Vision Pro, Enhancing the Steam Frame Experience
Apple announces the introduction of foveated streaming technology to its Vision Pro headset, a feature that enhances streaming quality by focusing on where the user is looking.
When I got my hands on the Steam Frame last year, I was filled with excitement. The new Valve VR headset promised a fresh take on home VR with a focus on convenience and ease-of-use—primarily driven by a technology known as foveated streaming. So far, the launch of the Steam Frame has faced challenges regarding availability and pricing, but it’s clear that foveated streaming is a compelling concept. Now, Apple is also incorporating this technology.
Foveated streaming works by adjusting the bitrate of streamed data based on the user’s gaze, requiring eye-tracking technology to function. This approach enhances performance by optimizing bandwidth and reliability, particularly for devices that wirelessly receive data.
The fundamentals behind this are akin to foveated rendering—key in reducing hardware demands by rendering different screen areas at varying detail levels. For example, Sony’s PS VR2 employs foveated rendering effectively.
According to documents from Apple, the newly added foveated streaming framework allows for efficient connection between the Vision Pro and streaming sources, optimizing quality based on the viewer’s focal point.
Here’s Apple’s perspective: “A flight simulator app can render a cockpit using RealityKit while streaming a complex landscape from a remote computer.”
This capability allows for the streaming of content in the background, freeing up system resources for the elements a user is primarily focused on. While it’s evident that Apple is poised to benefit from these advancements before the Steam Frame comes to market, Valve continues to grapple with production challenges due to the ongoing memory crisis affecting the availability of its new hardware, including the Steam Machine.
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