Vision Pro Teardown Reveals 'Fake Eyes' Mechanics

- The 3D effect is created by a combination of three layers: a curved OLED panel, a lenticular lens layer that directs different images to each of a viewer's eyes, and a widening layer that stretches the image across the front of the headset. - This multi-layer system results in significant trade-offs, including a dimmer and lower-resolution image than seen in Apple's promotional videos; the lenticular lens only provides a 3D parallax effect on the horizontal axis, meaning the illusion breaks if the wearer looks up or down. - Apple's Vice President of Human Interface Design, Alan Dye, stated that developing EyeSight was a "core" goal of the project to avoid the sense of isolation common with other headsets and to keep users feeling connected to people in their physical space. - The system doesn't show a direct video feed of the user's eyes; instead, internal infrared cameras and LEDs track eye movement, which is then used to animate a pre-scanned, 3D digital avatar of the user's face, called a "Persona," on the external screen. - The concept of a front-facing display to show the user's eyes was reportedly an idea that dates back to Apple's former chief designer, Jony Ive, and was developed by the Technology Development Group led by Mike Rockwell. - In addition to displaying a representation of the user's eyes, the EyeSight screen provides visual cues to others, such as a pulsing light to indicate that a spatial video is being recorded or a different color pattern when a user is fully immersed in a virtual environment. - The external display assembly is considered a primary point of failure and adds significant weight, cost, and complexity to the most weight-sensitive part of the device. - Competitors like Meta have prototyped similar outward-facing lenticular displays for eye representation but have not shipped the feature in their commercial Quest headsets, which serve as the Vision Pro's main market alternative.