Apple will be integrating Apple Intelligence on its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, broadening the reach of its generative AI platform to appeal to more users as a challenge from Google emerges.
The service will be live on the $3,500 device in the visionOS 2.4 update to be released in April, Apple said on Friday, without providing a specific date. Among the Apple Intelligence features that will be available are writing tools, Genmoji creation and the Image Playground app.
The visionOS 2.4 update will also include a guest mode, in addition to a new function that, for the first time, will allow a Vision Pro owner to control the set-up process from an iPhone, as well as the ability to choose which apps a guest can use.
Exclusive to the Vision Pro will be "Create a Memory Movie" in the photos app, where users can create a movie by typing a description.
In addition, Apple will introduce a new dedicated Vision Pro app on the iPhone, coming on iOS 18.4, meant for viewing spatial content to the headset, including media from outside sources.
The iOS 18.4 is also part of a first beta developer release on Friday, alongside iPadOS 18.4 and macOS Sequoia 15.4.
The Vision Pro will join Apple hardware that already supports Apple Intelligence, including the iPhone 16 line-up, the iPhone 15 Pro models, iPad Air and Pro with M1 and upwards.
Also suitable are the A17 Pro iPad Mini, MacBook Air and Pro, iMac and Mac mini with M1 and later, the Mac Studio with M1 and upwards, and the M2 Ultra Mac Pro.
"We’re continuing to push the boundaries of what’s possible in spatial computing with visionOS 2.4,” Mike Rockwell, vice president of Apple's Vision products group, said in a statement.
The announcement is the second this week that involves Apple Intelligence's reach: on Wednesday, Apple made its first major product launch of 2025, introducing the iPhone 16e, the redesigned successor to the iPhone SE that also has the generative AI platform and a number of flagship features from the mainline iPhone 16 line-up.
The Vision Pro update also comes at a time when Apple, based in California, is trying to drum up interest in the Vision Pro, and amid Google's development of its own Android XR system, which is powered by the Alphabet-owned company's Gemini generative AI platform and is to be used in Samsung Electronics' own headset code-named Project Moohan.
Samsung said more details on Android XR and Project Moohan will be revealed this year.
Apple unveiled the Vision Pro at the 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference, with chief executive Tim Cook touting it as a new era of spatial computing.
Spatial computing involves the digitisation of interaction between machines, people, objects and their surroundings, enabling and enhancing action and engagement.
The device is controlled by the user’s eyes, hands and voice, and is intended to blend digital content with the physical world while using spatial experiences in the visionOS platform.
Reviews for the Vision Pro have been largely positive, mainly for its build quality, software and intuitiveness, despite its price tag.
Apple had said interest in spatial computing is rising, “with more than half of the Fortune 100 companies having purchased Apple Vision Pro to develop innovative solutions”.
The company added that the Vision Pro is “unlocking new opportunities for healthcare professionals and medical institutions in areas such as clinical education, surgical planning, medical imaging and behavioural health”.
Apple doesn't break down sales units per region, though data from Counterpoint Research shows that sales of the Vision Pro soared 211 per cent in the third quarter of 2024 from the first quarter of that year, when the device was launched. The International Data Corporation, meanwhile, said that the Vision Pro captured 17 per cent of the mixed reality headset market in the first three months of 2024
The company, however, had scaled back its production of the Vision Pro, The Information reported last October.
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
