During the reveal of the Apple Vision Pro, Apple got our mouths watering with talk of 'spatial' video and photos on its headset. More than just 3D, spatial video and stills have added depth that lets you look from different perspectives, like say at an angle. But you can't capture any for yourself unless you have an (as yet unreleased) Apple Vision Pro, until now.
With iOS 17.2 Beta 2 The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max can now film spatial video through the usual camera app. It's locked to 1920 x 1080 resolution and a 30FPS frame rate (and landscape mode only) but you can now record your own futuristic videos.
The only thing is, you can press play and the video will look just like any other. It makes sense when you think about it. This is a feature designed for the Apple Vision Pro, so you'll need one to use it. As good as the camera on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is, viewing spatial images will take some serious tech. Of course, the headset too will be capable of capturing spatial video but it is much easier to take a video of a precious moment with your phone than take a headset (with a short battery life everywhere you go.
It's just a shame the headset is going to be so expensive. Even if the headset's release date is still a way away, by getting this update out early Apple has given us the chance not to miss capturing memories in a unique new way. Hopefully, over time, the Vision Pro will drop in price too, so get to recording.
This is undoubtedly the headline feature of iOS 17.2 Beta 2 but it's not the only one. It includes a further extension of the sensitive content warning feature to include stickers and contact posters and teaches Siri a couple of new tricks. The personal assistant can now tell you the elevation you're currently standing at and provide you an expected time of arrival (ETA) when using Apple Maps.
