Spatial Computing & The End of the Rectangle

The traditional rectangle – the window, the screen, the phone – has limited our interaction with digital content for over 50 years. From Xerox PARC through Windows to the iPhone: A flat rectangle was always the canvas. With the rise of High-Fidelity Spatial Computing, we're witnessing the most fundamental paradigm shift since the introduction of graphical user interfaces.

• 2024: $30B global market
• 2028: Projected $150B (CAGR: 38%)
• Apple Vision Pro: 500,000+ units in first year
• Meta Quest 3: 10M units (estimate)

Spatial UI requires a completely new understanding of ergonomics and typography. Studies from Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab show:

• Text under 24pt is barely readable in 3D space at 2m distance
• Optimal viewing angle: 15° below horizontal
• 'Comfort zone' for UI elements: 0.5m - 4m distance
• Minimum contrast for VR/AR: 7:1 (vs. 4.5:1 for 2D)

1. Depth Hierarchy: Important elements closer to user, secondary ones further away. Apple calls this 'Z-Sorting'. A foreground window feels 'louder' than one in the background.

2. Gaze-First Interaction: Gaze (Eye-Tracking) becomes the primary input device. Vision Pro captures 90 gaze points per second with 0.5° precision. The system must predict where the user will look next – 'Predictive Gaze' becomes a UX factor.

3. Spatial Audio as Feedback: Sounds come from the direction of their source. A notification sound on the left signals: 'Look left'. Apple invested $1B in spatial audio – for good reason.

4. Passthrough Integration: AR elements must seamlessly integrate into the real environment. Shadows, reflections, and occlusion determine credibility.

5. Body-Aware Design: The user can move! Interfaces must react when someone stands up, ducks, or walks around. 'Room-Scale UX' is the new responsive design challenge.

• Latency: <20ms for comfortable tracking (current: 12-15ms)
• Rendering: 4K per eye at 90fps = 15B pixels/second
• Battery life: Current standalone devices: 2-3 hours
• Weight: Vision Pro: 600g – ergonomic limit is ~400g

Startup Medivis uses Spatial Computing for OR planning. Surgeons can place CT scans as holographic 3D models in space and view them from all sides. The benefits:

• 40% faster surgical planning
• 23% fewer unexpected complications
• 92% of surgeons prefer 3D over 2D scans

The question is no longer 'How does this look on mobile?' but 'How does the app behave when the user walks through it?'. Designers must now master spatial concepts: How high does a virtual whiteboard hang? How wide is a comfortable aisle between UI elements?

• Apple Reality Composer Pro
• Unity XR Toolkit
• Figma (with Spatial Plugins)
• ShapesXR (native VR prototyping)

The boundary between physical and digital blurs. Those who invest in Spatial Design today shape the interfaces of the next decade.