In early June 2023, Apple announced what may finally usher the long awaited widespread adoption of immersive use into our daily lives. Created as the next stage in immersive technology, it’s an innovation that has the potential to seamlessly glide through different types of immersive content through a well designed user interface. Although it won’t be released until 2024, it’s something the technology world is very excited about. In this blog, we’ll explore what this could do to consumers and enterprises' daily lives whilst highlighting the importance of understanding user behaviour, performance and engagement from a spatial analysis perspective. But first, let’s talk a bit about what Apple Vision Pro is, and what it can do.
What is Apple Vision Pro?
Apple Vision Pro – and other devices like it – represent a significant leap forward in immersive technology. With its spatial computing capabilities and visionOS – the world’s first spatial operation system – Vision Pro creates an expansive canvas where digital content can seamlessly blend between Windows (2D Based content in AR), Volumes (Augmented Reality) and Spaces (Virtual Reality). It can register natural inputs such as a user’s eyes, hands, and voice to create a wholly immersive three-dimensional interface. Through the headset, users will be able to interact with numerous apps, capture spatial photos and videos, consume media, play games, and interact with fellow users in new and exciting ways.
The Future is Immersive
For many working in the XR industry this announcement has been a long time coming. At Metalitix we have been waiting for a widespread adoption of immersive experience for almost 10 years (can you believe the Oculus Rift DK1 was released 10 years ago!) As the technologies have continued to advance, and user adoption grows, so too does the transformative potential of these devices. From workplace productivity to entertainment, communication to online shopping, VR and AR technologies are sure to reshape how we interact with the digital world, not to mention how we connect with those around us. In the past, HMD and AR experiences have been largely purpose built. This meant they could build their own analytics to service their needs. However as the usage is now growing far beyond single experiences we are in desperate need of standardising spatial data collection and require a solution that is platform, hardware and application agnostic.
The Importance of Understanding User Behaviour
With the advent of new immersive technologies such as Apple Vision Pro, we’re soon going to see a surge in users embracing these devices. As such, it will be crucial to understand performance and user behaviour to improve user experience. That’s where Metalitix comes in. As a powerful 3D analytics tool, Metalitix tracks numerous metrics designed to improve usability and overall experience, such as position on the x,y,z axis, rotation, field of view, interactions, engagement rate, dwell time, and gaze tracking, to name a few. Courtesy of Metalitix, developers can collect valuable insights into how users are interacting with their immersive experiences from a spatial context, helping them to refine their content, boost engagement, demonstrate ROI and create experiences that connect with their audience.
Making data-driven decisions takes the guesswork out of optimising immersive products, helping developers craft the best experiences possible. Just as it took time to understand data and metrics on the internet, we’re ready to work with you to establish a new standard for Spatial Analytics. Together, we can shape the next stage of the internet’s evolution.
GDPR, Data Privacy and Immersive Devices
As with any new advanced technology, data privacy is a legitimate concern. With Vision Pro and other similar devices, it’s vital to maintain the highest level of data privacy and GDPR compliance. At Metalitix, we take this very seriously, guaranteeing all customers full GDPR compliance and data privacy. If you want to learn more about what data Metalitix collects, you can have a look at our data collection FAQ.
Optimise 3D Experiences with Metalitix
We’re all about empowering businesses to unlock the full potential of their immersive technologies. By leveraging our extensive and customisable library of 3D analytics, you’ll gain detailed insights into user behaviour, engagement patterns, and various performance metrics:
Identify popular experiences
Metalitix lets you identify the most visited areas within your virtual experiences. We can categorise Engagement through a user's Spatial movement, not by what they are clicking on. In the same way that we communicate in real life, words account for 7% of communication, Tone 38% and body language 55%*. We believe Metalitix can help you understand the movement of your customers to determine what is a positive or negative in an experience. Better understanding user preferences helps you to optimise these areas by adding interactive elements and enhancing the overall content.
Optimise user flow
Analyse user behaviour and interactions to identify any bottlenecks or areas where users are getting stuck. For example, a user may attempt to click on an item with no success. Usual analytics cannot register this, but Metalitix can. Monitoring this will help you improve navigation and create a more streamlined user experience.
Personalisation
Use 3D analytics to better understand your users’ preferences and behaviours. In the same way that we use cookies to pick up and personalise a return to a website, how can we provide spatial information for users to allow them to continue their experience. This will allow you to create more personalised immersive experiences tailored to individual users, creating a more bespoke experience.
Test and test again
By continuously monitoring and analysing, you can see the efficacy of your changes. If something isn’t working, you can change it. This can be done both during and after the creation of your immersive experience.
Apple Vision Pro Analytics
Exciting developments are underway at Metalitix, and Apple Vision Pro is at the forefront of these changes. We’re currently working towards full and seamless integration with Vision Pro and any application you may want to build, which will allow us to help our business partners harness the full potential of this innovative technology. So, if you operate within the world of AR and VR headsets, watch this space. Big changes are coming very soon.
Get Started Today
If you’d like to leverage the full power of 3D analytics within your immersive devices, get started with Metalitix and take your 3D environments to the next level. Learn more at metalitix.com, or book a demo to get started today.
*Albert Mehrabian at the University of California, Los Angeles, who laid out the concept in his 1971 book Silent Messages (1971).
