The next frontier for Apple Vision Pro is… gaming? I just played a bunch of PC games via Steam Link on Apple’s “spatial computer” headset, and it works so well that it may be our first hint at a future for the Vision Pro as Apple’s most open, most game-friendly platform. And all it costs is a measly $3,500 plus the price of a capable gaming PC.
On Tuesday, Valve launched an early beta version for its Steam Link app for Vision Pro. You have to download it through the Vision Pro’s TestFlight app. It’s clear this is a very early version. After connecting it to my PC, I was brought to Steam’s Big Picture mode. This makes it easier to navigate with a controller. However, there was a noticeable delay moving through these menus. The UI would constantly flicker as I moved between my various games.
I’ve now spent a few hours playing with my PC at home, relaxing on the comfort of my couch. The Vision Pro is heavy and gets heavier the longer you try to keep your neck straight. It’s nominally better for passive content—like streaming movies, semi-interactive shows, and a sparse selection of live sports events.
For mirroring non-VR games from a PC, the Vision Pro excels. The latest M5 chip version of the headset boosted the refresh rate up to 120Hz. You can push both the frame rate and resolution in these games, and they will come through striking and clear through the headsets’ micro OLED lenses.
Finally, easy PC mirroring on Vision Pro
This is still streaming, and that comes with the barest hint of latency. You’ll need a relatively fast home Wi-Fi network to ensure you’re not suffering through packet loss or blurred visuals. I could still play my games from the other side of my apartment from my PC. This caused some connection issues and input latency, but titles were still completely playable.
But it gets even weirder than that. In its current iteration, the Steam Link app is also the easiest way to do Windows PC to Vision Pro mirroring. It even supports eye tracking and pinch gestures for clicking with the mouse cursor. I could move between multiple connected displays and view web pages and other apps with surprising clarity through Vision Pro’s twin 3,660 x 3,200 screens.
The Steam Link app still has some oddities. If I left a game by holding down the controller’s select button, it would also quit Steam Big Picture Mode and take me back to the desktop. This is how I learned about Steam Link’s shortcut to PC mirroring. I could expand my PC screen as large as I wanted and even click around using eye-tracking and gesture controls. It wasn’t as easy as Vision Pro’s Mac mirroring. That mode lets you create a pseudo ultrawide screen with a mirrored Mac. You can’t get the window nearly as big when mirroring a PC.
The Vision Pro could become amazing for PCVR as well
There have been other means of PC game streaming through apps like ALVR. That app also allows access to virtual reality gaming through SteamVR and PCVR titles. There’s also ClearXR, a new app that allows foveated streaming. To break it down, Apple worked with Nvidia to add support for its CloudXR SDK. This allows the headset to use Apple’s accurate eye tracking to reduce the image quality outside of users’ view area. By doing so, it reduces bandwidth, making content far easier to stream.
As good as that sounds, ClearXR currently doesn’t support SteamVR, so sorry you won’t be playing Half-Life Alyx without a ton of extra work. ALVR requires users download a supported VR runtime on a PC. Many of these third-party efforts are still nascent. Even Valve’s software is still in beta.
While Meta has all but abandoned VR gaming on Meta Quest headsets, Apple only now realizes that games are intrinsic to the virtual reality experience. What’s more exciting is that this is all happening at once. But for the pricey $3,500, it may soon become one of the best headsets for streaming game content directly in front of your eyes.
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