Apple shows how it's possible to try out the new iPhone inside the Vision Pro

For example, you can hold a virtual iPhone in front of a virtual landscape and see images you took with different cameras.

The patent application (spotted by Patently Apple) is for what Apple describes as a method for 'customizing and demonstrating a product in a virtual environment'.

A method of providing a virtual shopping experience in which a product demo is shown to the user. In some cases, a demo is an interactive demonstration in a simulated virtual environment, in which the user can interact with the device and the device responds to the simulated virtual environment. In other cases, the demo demonstrates one or more custom product features. In many other situations, users can customize product features, such as customizing product configuration and/or components.

It includes an augmented reality view of the device in your own home.

An electronic device that displays an extended reality (XR) environment (e.g., a computer-generated environment) according to the implementation scenarios of the disclosure. In some cases, the electronic device is a handheld or mobile device, such as a tablet, laptop, smartphone, or head-mounted display […]

The physical environment can include physical surfaces (e.g., floors, walls) or physical objects (e.g., tables, lamps, etc.). In some cases, the electronics can be configured to capture areas of the physical environment including table tops, lights, desktops, and input devices.

But virtual environments will also be used. For example, the illustration includes a person testing the phone's camera, standing in front of a simulated image of a mountain range and being able to view photos that would be taken with the wide-angle and telephoto lenses.

Another image shows a person configuring a desktop Mac with different components and seeing the performance impact in both statistical form and an on-screen demo of actual usage. The Buy button then allows you to purchase the system you just set up.

For example, you can try a Mac with a base processor and memory, then switch to a faster processor and more memory to see improved performance.

What Apple describes is the ability to use virtual devices in a very comprehensive way. For example, for Mac or iPad:

Devices typically support multiple applications that can be displayed in a computer-generated environment, such as one or more of the following: Drawing applications, presentation applications, word processing applications, creation applications websites, spreadsheet apps, gaming apps, phone apps, online meeting apps, email apps, instant messaging apps, workout apps, content apps (for example, photo/video management application), digital camera application, digital video camera application, web browsing application, digital music player application, television channel browsing application, and/or Use a digital video player.

Obviously the goal here is to allow the virtual demo to fully mimic the in-store experience.