While the Apple Vision Pro headset is not launching until early 2024, some developers have access to the device in order to develop visionOS apps. Through Feedback Assistant, Apple is collecting opinions on the Vision Pro "Persona" that is created for each person for use with FaceTime.
The Persona is a digital representation of the user, with Apple using the headset's cameras to recreate the face and hands. While the FaceTime call is ongoing, the Persona is able to make the same facial expressions and hand movements as the user, so that FaceTime calls feel more like a person-to-person interaction.
There is likely some degree of uncanny valley with this experience, so it is no surprise that it is a feature that Apple is working to refine. Apple is asking developers a number of questions about the Persona experience.
How do you feel about your Persona?
To what extent do you feel this Persona represents your appearance?
To what extent do you feel your Persona responds to your facial expressions?
What do you like most about your Persona?
What do you like least about your Persona?
What do you like/not like about this Persona?
Respondents are given multiple choice answers for most of the questions, with the last one being an open feedback form. For the "How do you feel about your Persona?" question, for example, responses include "Very Happy - I'm excited to use it," "Happy - I would be okay using it," "Unhappy - I would be hesitant to use it," and "Very Unhappy - I would never use it."
Exclusive: Apple is asking developers with the Vision Pro to fill out a feedback survey about FaceTime Personas.
Some questions include:
How do you feel about your Persona?
To what extent do you feel this Persona represents your appearance? pic.twitter.com/wKgQlKrODL
— Aaron (@aaronp613) September 14, 2023
Apple does not plan to release the Vision Pro headset until early 2024, so it still has several months of software refining and hardware tweaking to do before the device needs to be mass produced in order to sell.
The headset will be priced at $3,500 when it launches, and it will first be available in the United States before expanding to other countries.
Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store.
The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump.
...
Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences.
The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
Friday November 7, 2025 6:40 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's online store in the U.S. is suddenly offering a pack of four AirTags for just $29, which is the same price as a single AirTag.
This is likely a pricing error, and it is unclear if orders will be fulfilled. Apple has not discounted the AirTag four-pack in any other countries that we checked.
Delivery estimates are already pushing into late November to early December, suggesting...
Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more.
Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features.
Liquid Glass Toggle
iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass.
In the Settings app, under Display...
Thursday November 6, 2025 4:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
IKEA today announced the upcoming launch of 21 new Matter-compatible smart home products that will be able to interface with HomeKit and the Apple Home app. There are sensors, lights, and control options, all of which will be reasonably priced. Some of the products are new, while some are updates to existing lines that IKEA previously offered.
There are a series of new smart bulbs that are...
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue.
Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
Friday November 7, 2025 1:19 pm PST by Juli Clover
HTX Studio this week shared the results from a six-month battery test that compared how fast charging and slow charging can affect battery life over time.
Using six iPhone 12 models, the channel set up a system to drain the batteries from five percent and charge them to 100 percent over and over again. Three were fast charged, and three were slow charged.
Another set of iPhones underwent...
Thursday November 6, 2025 4:37 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report.
Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...
The Uncanny Valley is a real thing, and teams of digital artists spending hours doing 3D work have an enormously hard time making true-to-life CGI people that don't freak us out. I'm curious to see how Apple pulls this off in real-time practice.
I'd like customizable Personas, preferably clown-themed: Pennywise for calling the kids, Bozo for business associates, and Weary Willie for close friends.
It seems to me that until we gain the technologies to project holographic versions of ourselves into distant meetings/greetings, this has to be towards next best thing. All those FaceTime/Skype/Zoom/etc face-to-face conversations people have every day are all limited to that 2D flat screen experience... where you very much are reminded that you are not there and they are not with you. This moderates that feeling towards creating a face-to-face environment that will certainly feel like you are there and they are here with you.
I look forward to trying it out and hope it works at least as good as implied in the WWDC demo... if not even better.
