Apple has been ruining 3D for decades. Good luck with Vision Pro

Apple's history with 3D technology has been far from brilliant over the decades, so the anticipation of the Vision Pro, complete with the promise of enhanced 'spatial computing', is an exciting prospect. When pre-orders opened in early January, Cupertino's past in the third dimension provided valuable perspective amidst the growing excitement surrounding the device's launch.

Marking Apple's first product in nearly 50 years to explicitly rely on real-time 3D graphics, the Vision Pro may appear to signal a completely new direction for the tech giant. But, more to the point, it's the latest chapter in a narrative filled with indifference, ignored standards, and failed products.

Although Apple][was not the optimal platform for 3D software, the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator in 1979 demonstrated its capabilities with wireframes. Early Macintosh computers featured a 3D 'bouncing ball' demo, apparently borrowed from a similar display on Commodore's competitor Amiga, a computer equipped with substantial real-time 3D capabilities. That said, the Mac's only 2D support in its Toolbox API demands advanced assembly language programming skills to create such graphics.

Despite these technical challenges, two early Macintosh applications demonstrated the incorporation of graphical user interfaces and 3D interactivity. Virtus Walkthrough, prototyped by programmer David Smith as a previsualization tool for James Cameron's The Abyss, produces detailed architectural walkthroughs on a simple Macintosh IIci. Although the frame rate was less than optimal for the full experience, it marked progress, making architectural walkthroughs accessible on $1500 personal computers rather than half-million dollar Silicon Graphics workstations.

Another early title, Spectre, introduced Battlezone-like tank gameplay with wireframes and jagged landscapes. Unlike its predecessor, Specter is based on Apple's plug-and-play AppleTalk. Years before Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM, or LAN binges, engineers at Shiva Corporation engaged in a Friday afternoon battle royale, chasing artillery packets across the network using a home modem's dial-into-an-AppleTalk network.

Although Specter had the potential to be an innovative computer game, it demonstrated Apple's indifference to the burgeoning world of 3D. Desktop publishing and the success of 2D elevated the status of the Macintosh, but clouded Apple's vision of the emerging possibilities of 3D within its developer community.

Instead, Microsoft actively pursued 3D, acquiring British startup Rendermorphics in 1994 and turning RealityLab into a Direct3D core. The subsequent success story is well known: Windows becoming the leading desktop platform for gaming, expansion into console gaming, ownership of game studios (with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard), virtual reality, and the creation of the first successful spatial computing device, the Holo Lens. Apple's historical indifference to 3D becomes even more apparent against this backdrop, underscoring the challenges the Vision Pro faces as it enters the 3D landscape.