Apple Vision Pro
Release Date
February 2, 2024
The Apple Vision Pro offers a pioneering interface with eye and hand-tracking capabilities, 3D video and augmented reality features. It shows impressive potential, however it falls short in performance due to glitches, a potentially intrusive battery, and a disconcerting Digital Persona feature. It boasts advanced technology, yet is criticized for its high price, considerable weight, and limited functionality. It is primarily designed as a monitor replacement, but is uncomfortable for long-term use and lacks immersive augmented reality capabilities, diminishing its value for everyday use.
Purchase Links
Overview
- Summary
- Overview - Build & Design
- Overview - Features
- Overview - Performance
- Overview - Purpose
- Overview - Target Market
- Overview - Worth
- Positive
- Negative
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Apple Vision Pro provides a cutting-edge interface with eye and hand-tracking features, alongside astonishing 3D video capabilities and impressive augmented reality applications. It presents a remarkable method to enhance your Mac experience. However, it does have some early performance glitches that need to be addressed, a potentially intrusive battery, and a somewhat unsettling Digital Persona feature that requires improvement.
@Julie-ns8vm – The Wall Street Journal
The Apple Vision Pro, despite its advanced technology, falls short due to its high price, hefty weight, and limited functionality. It primarily serves as a monitor replacement, but lacks immersive capabilities and is uncomfortable to use for extended periods. Its augmented reality features are also minimal, making it impractical for everyday use and not worth the investment for most users.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro has a sleek and modern design with a curved glass front panel and a customizable modular design. However, it’s quite heavy and may cause discomfort after prolonged use.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Equipped with eye and hand tracking interface, the Vision Pro sets itself apart from the competition, although early bugs and unusual features may cause some initial discomfort for users.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Apple Vision Pro is an advanced spatial computing headset that allows users to interact with digital content in their environment in new ways. It offers an immersive experience, from controlling music with hand gestures to enlarging a MacBook’s display on a wall.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Apple Vision Pro offers the ability to capture 3D photos and videos directly through the headset, or spatial videos using the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, enhancing the realism of the subject captured.
@KurtisandHurdle – Washington Post
The Apple Vision Pro provides an experience significantly different from typical VR, with an impressively clear interface comparable to a high-resolution 4K display. It’s useful in a variety of situations, from school work to travel and waiting rooms.
r/apple
The Vision Pro has several attractive features including integration with macOS, immersive environments, and it provides an exceptional movie-watching experience.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro enhances multitasking capabilities, especially when used in conjunction with a Mac, introducing an immersive spatial computing experience.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Apple Vision Pro is an exceptional entertainment device, particularly for viewing 3D movies on Apple TV+. Its display quality is impressive, offering an immersive viewing experience, as evidenced by the lifelike quality of movies such as “Man of Steel” and “The Super Mario Bros.”
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Apple Vision Pro is designed for those who enjoy multitasking, 3D entertainment, and capturing photos and videos. It can be used to pin multiple apps in your space, capture and view 3D content, watch 3D movies, and experience augmented reality apps.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Starting at a steep price of $3,500, the Vision Pro is geared towards early adopters with deep pockets. Despite its high cost, it is considered Apple’s most innovative product in over a decade.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro’s cutting-edge features, including razor-sharp microOLED displays, realistic video pass-through, and an intuitive interface that tracks eye and hand movements, are a testament to Apple’s ingenious design and technological prowess.
AppleInsider
Vision Pro offers a viewing experience that rivals a high-end home theater system, with its top-notch displays and advanced technology.
r/apple
The key attraction of the VR headset lies in its ability to allow users to work remotely with high efficiency, making it an ideal tool for frequent travelers. It’s akin to carrying a 4k monitor in your bag, thereby revolutionizing the way work is done. With compatibility features with Mac, Safari, Word, and Excel, the VR headset offers a superior multitasking experience, offering multiple window functionality which is unrivaled in the VR headset market. For high earners, the cost of the VR headset could be justified, especially given the potential tax benefits that might be applicable in certain countries.
r/technology
The Apple Vision Pro is remarkably impressive in its design and functionality. Its proprietary software accompanying the device is intriguing and unique. However, the product is currently significantly limited, making its high price point of $3,500 not quite justifiable in terms of the value it offers. Nonetheless, there’s anticipation for the likely release of an improved “Vision SE” version in the future.
r/VisionPro
The Apple Vision Pro has been praised for its superior performance in content consumption, with some users considering its high price justified by its portable high-resolution theater capabilities.
Pros & Cons
- Pros
- Cons
- Positive
- Negative
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
- The Apple Vision Pro provides an incredible eye and hand-tracking interface.
- It delivers stunning 3D movies and Apple Immersive Video.
- The Apple Vision Pro impresses with its Spatial video and photos.
- It seamlessly integrates with MacBooks.
- The Apple Vision Pro offers excellent AR apps and experiences.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
- The Apple Vision Pro is considered to be on the higher end of the price spectrum.
- Key applications such as Netflix and YouTube are absent from the The Apple Vision Pro’s app offering.
- The Apple Vision Pro personas could use some improvements.
- Its tethered battery can potentially cause inconvenience.
Build & Design
- Build - Accessories
- Build - Buttons
- Build - Front
- Build - Headband
- Build - Portability
- Build - Variants
- Build - Weight
- Design - Ease of Use
- Design - Front
- Design - Headband Options
- Positive
- Negative
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The soft textile Light Seal and the three-dimensionally knitted HeadBand offer maximum comfort.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The top button on the left side of the headset is used to capture spatial videos.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The right side of the Vision Pro features a digital crown for accessing the home screen, controlling the volume, and enhancing the immersion of the Environment being viewed. The left side has a top button for capturing spatial photos and videos, and confirming purchases.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
Users can switch between AR and VR modes using a crown similar to that on the Apple Watch. There’s also a knob for customizing the fit and a button on top of the headset for taking photos.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The headset has a crown on top, similar to the Apple Watch, which can be rotated to switch between augmented and virtual reality.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The headset’s front is constructed from three-dimensionally formed, laminated glass connected to a custom aluminum alloy frame.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Solo Knit Band and the Dual Loop Band are included. The Solo Knit Band is stretchy and easy to put on and remove. The Dual Loop Band provides more support and stability, making it suitable for longer usage sessions.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
By using a tethered battery system, Apple has managed to make the Apple Vision Pro noticeably lighter than competing headsets, addressing the issue of discomfort during prolonged use.
AppleInsider
The Apple Vision Pro is portable and can be carried around easily, despite having to worry about a battery and cable. It offers the convenience of being used in different locations like a bedroom, studio, or even on a plane.
@ThatWellnessGuy – AppleInsider
Its portability is a significant advantage, allowing users to move around without missing out on their favorite shows or events. The device’s flexibility is highly praised, with users appreciating the ability to carry their viewing experience with them throughout the house.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The base model of the Vision Pro comes with 256GB of storage, with options to upgrade to 512GB or 1TB for additional cost. There are also various accessories available, including ZEISS optical inserts for those who wear glasses, and a $199 travel case for protection.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro’s weight ranges from 1.3 to 1.4 pounds, depending on the Light Seal and head band configuration.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro’s modular design allows easy swapping of the Light Seal and Light Seal Cushion, and the two band options. However, the magnetic connection could be stronger as the Light Seal can detach when handling the device.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
Resembling ski goggles, the Apple Vision Pro’s curved front has an external screen that allows others to see the wearer’s eyes, thanks to a feature called EyeSight.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
Users have the choice between the Solo Knit Band or the Dual Loop Band for the headset.
Features
- Battery
- Connectivity Options
- Controls
- Display
- Display Modes
- Operating System
- Security
- Sensors
- Setup
- Software
- Sound System
- Specifications
- System
- Updates
- Video
- Positive
- Negative
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The Apple Vision Pro features an external battery pack that connects to the headset via a cable, necessitating users to carry the battery in their pocket while dealing with a dangling cable.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The device is also compatible with Bluetooth keyboards for a faster and more convenient text input experience.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro can be used to play iPad games with a connected controller, providing a 2D experience on a large screen.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro provides seamless integration with your Mac, allowing you to view your Mac desktop in your virtual space. Despite the lack of multiple desktop views, the 4K display renders text crisply and the canvas can be adjusted to a larger size than most monitors.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Mac games, like Resident Evil Village, can also be played on the Vision Pro, provided the user has a powerful enough MacBook.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
For work-related purposes, the headset can serve as a 4K external monitor for a connected Mac, mirroring the Mac’s display onto the AR interface.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The Apple Vision Pro supports wireless keyboard and mouse connections for getting work done, and can mirror a MacBook’s screen into visionOS over Wi-Fi, allowing the addition of other virtual screens.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro allows easy navigation through gestures. Users can scroll and zoom in or out by simply pinching their fingers together and moving them in the desired direction, offering an experience reminiscent of the movie Minority Report.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Apple Vision Pro offers a revolutionary and intuitive operation method. Users simply use their eyes to select an element and then click by tapping their thumb and index finger together.
AppleInsider
The Vision Pro’s screens boast an exceptional contrast ratio, deep blacks, and impressive brightness, supporting both HDR10 and Dolby Vision, the latter being a specification not fully supported by many TVs.
AppleInsider
Designed with media consumption in mind, the Vision Pro has multiple refresh rates including a 96Hz ideal for viewing 24 frames per second content, ensuring smooth and stutter-free playback.
AppleInsider
Utilizing Micro OLED technology, the Vision Pro headset delivers pixel-perfect images on screens that exceed 4K resolution, offering an immersive viewing experience without any screen door effect.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
Users can customize their environment, such as changing it to a volcano view or Avengers HQ, and watch movies or shows in these settings with dimmed surroundings. The content is visually sharp and Apple is working with studios to increase the library of 3D movies.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
Rotating the Apple Vision Pro’s crown clockwise erases the surrounding world and introduces a virtual environment, while rotating it counterclockwise brings back the real world view through a “passthrough” feature.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Vision OS, the operating system of the Vision Pro, integrates digital content into the real-world view of the user, instead of replacing it. The dedicated R1 chip streams images to the device’s microOLED displays with minimal delay, resulting in a life-like video pass-through.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The Apple Vision Pro runs on the new Apple operating system, VisionOS, specifically designed for spatial computing. It supports a plethora of popular Apple applications, such as Camera, Facetime, Mail, Maps, and more, and also includes over 600 new apps built specifically for the headset.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
VisionOS offers an exciting work environment with a multitude of virtual screens to browse the web.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The Apple Vision Pro operates independently and doesn’t need to be paired with another device. It uses visionOS, Apple’s new spatial operating system, allowing users to enjoy various activities such as watching movies, playing games, and working.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro employs a unique authentication method called OpticID, which uses eye tracking to measure pupils for security, functioning similarly to Face ID.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The Apple Vision Pro allows control through eye and hand tracking—a feature slowly being adopted by other headsets—as well as voice commands. This includes actions like pinching to select and flicking to scroll.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
During the setup of the Vision Pro, users are guided through a calibration process that involves tracking and selecting a dot on the screen, leading to an easy and fast adaptation to the new interface.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
To personalize the Light Seal and prevent light leakage, users scan their faces in a process similar to setting up Face ID.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
Setting up the Vision Pro involves scanning your face twice on an iPhone, similar to setting up Face ID.
Washington Post
Connecting the Vision Pro headset with a MacBook is possible when they are signed into the same Apple ID.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The djay app is one of the most impressive Vision Pro apps, offering a highly interactive and realistic DJ mixing experience, complete with all the buttons, sliders, and needles.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Apple’s Encounter Dinosaurs app for the Vision Pro offers an immersive experience where a butterfly lands on the user’s finger, followed by a giant dinosaur entering the frame and jumping out of the screen.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Unique environments are available for specific apps. For instance, Apple TV+ has a cinema environment for an immersive movie-watching experience, and Disney+ offers The Avengers Tower as a backdrop for shows and movies.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The device has a mix of native games and iPad apps, including Jetpack Joyride, which is controlled by pressing fingers together and moving the hand.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro allows users to place 3D animations and models using the JigSpace app, which can provide a realistic representation of objects like airplane engines or Formula One race cars.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Popular streaming apps such as Netflix and YouTube are currently not available for the Vision Pro. Netflix’s CEO has mentioned they are in talks with Apple but considers the device not sufficiently mainstream yet.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The SkyGuide app provides a very immersive planetarium experience, allowing users to identify constellations and draw in the sky using a laser pointer.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Voyager by ForeFlight, another app compatible with Vision Pro, offers real-time 3D visuals of planes taking off and landing, giving users the feeling of being an air traffic controller.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The game Synthriders, also available on Meta Quest, uses mixed reality to allow users to interact with colorful floating balls and beams of light in time with music, while also dodging obstacles.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
What the Golf? is a casual mini golf game where the virtual course can be placed anywhere in the room. The ball is hit by pulling back with your fingers and an arrow shows the direction.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
It also features Facetime for Apple Vision Pro, which allows for videoconferencing in a collaborative environment, complete with life-sized tiles of participants and spatial audio for natural conversation.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The JigSpace app lets users interact with 3D objects, like disassembling a race car, while the Mindfulness app provides a unique meditation experience. Another interactive demo called Encounter Dinosaurs allows users to interact with large creatures moving around rocks, even having a butterfly land on their finger.
The Wall Street Journal
The Vision Pro can be used like a large personalized home theater. It includes apps like Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Netflix and YouTube, but the latter two can only be accessed through the browser. It also includes Siri, which can provide weather updates.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The headset employs two individually amplified drivers in each audio pad to deliver Personalized Spatial Audio, tailoring audio based on the user’s head and ear geometry.
AppleInsider
In addition to its superior visual capabilities, the Vision Pro features high-quality built-in speakers on either side, providing 3D audio with spatial sound and support for Dolby Atmos, creating an immersive auditory experience.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
- The Apple Vision Pro starts from $3,499.
- It runs on the VisionOS.
- The device is powered by M2 and R1 chips.
- It features a micro-OLED display with 23 million pixels and variable refresh rates of 90Hz, 96Hz, and 100Hz.
- Storage options include 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.
- The camera is a 6.5MP Stereoscopic 3D camera with spatial video and photo captures (18mm, f/2.0).
- It is equipped with 2 main cameras, 6 world-facing tracking cameras, 4 eye-tracking cameras, a TrueDepth camera, a LiDAR scanner, 4 inertial measurement units, a flicker sensor, and an ambient light sensor.
- The device uses OpticID for iris-based authentication.
- It includes spatial audio pods with dynamic head tracking and a 6-mic array for audio.
- The device supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3.
- The battery supports 2 hours of general use and 2.5 hours of video playback.
- The device weighs between 21.2 and 22.9 ounces.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The Vision Pro boasts two OLED displays with a combined total of 23 million pixels, Apple’s M2 chip, 12 cameras, five sensors, six microphones, and the voice assistant Siri. It also introduces the R1 chip, which works alongside the M2 chip to prevent lag.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Control Center is easily accessible by looking up and clicking the downward-facing arrow. This menu provides various options, including changing environments, enabling guest mode, accessing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, screen recording, and more.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Apple’s Vision Pro has a feature called EyeSight that allows others to see a digital representation of your eyes when they approach you while you’re wearing the headset. The feature allows you to engage with others without removing the headset.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Apple Vision Pro allows for voice text entry, providing a seamless way to navigate websites using the built-in microphone.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The home screen of the Vision Pro is easy to navigate with the eye tracking technology, as icons light up when the user’s gaze falls upon them. This is made possible by downward-facing cameras that can track your hands and eyes.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Users can adjust the color tone of their skin, brightness, and select from various Portrait-like effects to enhance their Persona. Additionally, digital glasses can be added to accessorize the avatar, but the customization options are limited. In a video call, the Vision Pro allows users to share their view and the apps they are working in, promoting collaboration.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro offers a variety of 3D Environments to choose from, delivering a highly immersive and realistic visual experience. The level of immersion can be controlled by turning the digital crown clockwise or counterclockwise.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The Apple Vision Pro headset also incorporates Apple’s machine learning technology to create a ‘digital persona’ for the wearer, reflecting their face and hand movements in real time during video calls.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The Apple Vision Pro creates a realistic model of your face, adding depth and movement to your avatar during Facetime calls. Enhanced video calling experiences are also available on third-party apps such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
One of the key features of the Apple Vision Pro is its immersive video capability. It allows users to feel as if they are in the location where the video is playing, with a realistic spatial audio. It also supports streaming services such as Disney Plus, ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, and others, enhancing the entertainment value.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The Apple Vision Pro is equipped with EyeSight, an exterior display that mimics the wearer’s eye movements, providing an approximation of facial expressions to the viewer. However, the visual quality of this feature might be off-putting to some, with its fuzzy animation and unusual appearance.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The Apple Vision Pro provides a desktop-like experience in confined spaces by allowing the opening of multiple windows.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
A feature called People Awareness allows users to see a faint image of a person nearby when they look in their direction, creating an immersive experience.
The Wall Street Journal
The Apple Vision Pro features a home screen with a grid of apps that can be navigated through a simple look and select mechanism. Applications can be placed around the user in a spatial computing setup, allowing simultaneous interaction with multiple apps.
The Wall Street Journal
The Apple Vision Pro allows users to prepare a ‘persona’ for video calls, creating a 3D representation of the user’s face. The reactions to this feature were mixed, with some users finding it less than flattering.
AppleInsider
The Vision Pro supports 3D movies and offers a free upgrade for users who own any of the over 200 3D movies in the iTunes library. This is a compelling feature as it eliminates the need to purchase expensive 3D Blu-rays.
AppleInsider
A popular feature is the Cinema mode that mimics a movie theater experience, creating a large, distraction-free display for the user to enjoy from the comfort of their own home.
AppleInsider
Unlike a TV, which is a shared utility in a household, the Vision Pro is primarily designed for single user. To let someone else use the Vision Pro, guest mode has to be enabled from the control center, and the user would have to adjust the eyes and calibrations every time they use it. This indicates a lack of a multi-user experience.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
With the visionOS 1.1 update, Apple is providing appearance updates for the Persona, aiming to make it resemble the user more closely.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Recent updates to the Vision Pro include appearance updates to the user’s Persona and the ability to reset the device without needing to return it to Apple.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
For an elevated entertainment experience, the device offers Immersive Video, a new format delivering a 3D experience with 8K recordings and a 180-degree field of view. This feature brings viewers into the action, making them feel like they’re part of the scene, whether they’re watching a highliner crossing a mountain chasm or sitting in the studio with Alicia Keys. Apple has also demonstrated the potential of Immersive Video in sports, offering viewers a unique perspective during a soccer match. This feature could revolutionize the way we watch sports, especially considering Apple’s broadcasting rights to MLB and MLS games.
Performance
- Battery & Charging
- Chipset
- Display
- Heat Management
- Photography
- Sensors
- Software
- Sound System
- System
- Videography
- Positive
- Negative
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro’s battery life is rated at 2 to 2.5 hours.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The Apple Vision Pro’s battery pack provides around two hours of power. It remains cool even after 30 minutes of use.
The Wall Street Journal
The battery life was not impressive, requiring a charge every two to three hours. As a result, staying plugged into a wall outlet was often the best option.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Apple Vision Pro, powered by M2 and R1 chips, offers a responsive and smooth user experience across a range of activities, including multitasking, 3D movie watching, and gaming.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro, powered by the M2 chip, delivers efficient multitasking. It allows you to launch and operate multiple applications simultaneously, with each appearing in different sections of your space.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The Apple Vision Pro’s micro-OLED panel displays ordinary images and videos crisply and sharply. Spatial videos and photos, which can be captured through the iPhone 15 Pro models or the headset itself, look grainy but effectively place users in the scene they’re watching
Washington Post
The Vision Pro headset does not generally cause nausea, but the solo loop can be uncomfortable due to its weight. Scrolling through a large browser window quickly can also cause discomfort.
The Wall Street Journal
The device became notably warm during usage, particularly when using FaceTime and screen recording simultaneously. However, using the dual loop band improved the comfort.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro gives a new dimension to panoramic photos by making the viewer feel as if they are standing in the center of the frame, offering a completely immersive photo viewing experience. Even regular photos are given a new lease of life in the Vision Pro, making scrolling through your gallery a highly enjoyable and immersive experience.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Even in complete darkness, the Vision Pro’s hand- and eye-tracking interfaces continue to function, allowing users to watch movies in bed, though a warning will be issued stating that the user’s hands will not be visible.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro is compatible with over a million iPhone and iPad apps, and it also offers around 600 native Vision Pro apps. However, the quality of these native apps can vary, with some offering mind-blowing experiences, while others seem more like tech demos.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
User interaction with apps in the virtual space is intuitive. Apps can be moved and resized by simple actions such as selecting, staring, and dragging. Closing an app is just as simple, either by staring at the ‘X’ or by voice command to Siri.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The Apple Vision Pro offers an immersive user experience, with apps and features interacting seamlessly with the user’s natural space. Users can move applications around as they would with physical objects, creating an intuitive and comfortable user interface.
The Wall Street Journal
The Apple Vision Pro was used to follow a recipe from the Crouton app, which was designed for it. It made the cooking process more natural and efficient, especially when cutting onions and using the timer function.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Built-in audio pods on the Apple Vision Pro deliver a rich, balanced spatial audio experience. Whether you’re watching movies or listening to music, the sound quality is clear and immersive, with effective directionality that enhances the overall experience.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro introduces Persona, a 3D avatar of the user, created by scanning your face using the headset’s front cameras. Despite the uncanny resemblance to the user, the results can sometimes exaggerate certain features like wrinkles.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The Vision Pro accurately picks up finger gestures, allowing for easy navigation through the interface. Typing can be done using voice dictation or a virtual keyboard, though the latter can be challenging. A wireless keyboard is recommended for extensive typing.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The interaction with the Vision Pro is impressive, combining eye movements and finger gestures for control. Despite the extensive data collection from the user’s gaze, Apple ensures this information is securely stored.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro provides an unmatched 3D video experience, transforming the way users view concerts, sporting events, and other forms of entertainment. The device’s spatial videos and photos add a hyper-realistic dimension to users’ memories.
The Wall Street Journal
The Vision Pro’s ability to record and playback spatial or 3D images and videos is a standout feature. Hands-free recording, similar to Meta’s Ray Bans, is also possible. Despite the inability to screen record the 2D or 3D movies and shows, the Apple Vision Pro display experience is immersive. There are also virtual reality videos offered by Apple, including a 180-degree view of Yosemite.
Inclusions & Packaging
- In The Box
- Positive
- Negative
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Apple Vision Pro package includes the headset, the Light Seal, the Light Seal Cushion, both the Solo Knit Band and Dual Loop Band, the battery, a thicker Light Seal Cushion, a polishing cloth and a 30W USB-C power adapter.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The box contains the headset, battery pack, a Dual Loop Band, cover, light seal cushion, polishing cloth, 0W USB-C Power Adapter, and a USB-C Charge Cable.
Comparison
- Comparison vs. Apple iPad Pro 11-inch, Comparison vs. Meta Quest 3 & Comparison vs. Meta Quest Pro
- Comparison vs. Meta Quest Pro & Comparison vs. Meta Quest 3
- Comparison vs. Meta Quest & Comparison vs. HTC
- Comparison vs. Meta Quest
- Comparison vs. Meta Quest & Comparison vs. Other AR Headsets
- Comparison vs. Meta Quest 3
- Positive
- Negative
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro’s weight ranges from 1.3 to 1.4 pounds, depending on the Light Seal and head band configuration, making it heavier than an 11-inch iPad Pro and the Meta Quest 3, but lighter than the Meta Quest Pro.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
While competitor headsets like the Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest Pro have built-in batteries for greater convenience, they are also less powerful.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The Apple Vision Pro comes with a steep price of $3,499 for the base model, setting it apart from competitors like Meta and HTC, who have offerings in the sub-$1,000 range.
@dabbadoo2226 – Washington Post
You could save around $3000 by choosing a Meta Quest, which comes without the inconvenience of a trailing wire.
r/VisionPro
The Apple Vision Pro’s unique feature lies in its operating system which supports multiple data panes around the user, a function crucial for work-related tasks, setting it apart from other headsets. Unlike other headsets such as the Meta Quest, Apple Vision Pro apps are compatible with keyboards or mice, and even allow interaction with floating iPad screens using eye tracking or hand gestures. While other AR headsets may offer fragments of Apple Vision Pro’s functionality, no other platform integrates computing and spatial computing as seamlessly, enabling users to leverage multiple iPad apps in a spatial environment effortlessly.
r/VisionPro
Apple’s “Spatial Computing” and Mixed Reality don’t show significant differences. Although AVP has superior hardware and provides a better experience due to its advanced displays, it essentially offers a similar experience to Quest 3, apart from a few Apple-specific apps. There is a strong expectation that the development of VisionOS will surpass Meta’s Quest platform, positioning AVP as a leading innovator in the VR/AR/MR industry.
Price & Availability
- Availability
- Price
- Price - Variants
- Positive
- Negative
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Apple Vision Pro is currently available for pre-order, with a release date set for February 2.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
You can try the Vision Pro before buying it by booking a demo with a Specialist at the Apple Store. You can also buy it, try it out, and return it within the standard 14-day return period if you’re not satisfied.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
The Apple Vision Pro is available for purchase on the Apple website and in stores. Pre-orders started on January 19, and deliveries and in-store pickups began on February 2.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The Apple Vision Pro is available for pre-order from January 19, and will be on sale from February 2.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
For eyeglass wearers, the cost of Zeiss Optical Inserts ranging from $99 to $149 must be considered. Additional options like Apple Care+ for $499 or $24.99 per month, and a $199 Travel Case for the Vision Pro, are also available.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
Apple provides two more storage options for the Apple Vision Pro: a 512GB model for $3,699, and a 1TB model for $3,899.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
For users with glasses, prescription Zeiss optical inserts are available for $149, which can be magnetically attached to the optical lenses inside the Apple Vision Pro.
Miscellaneous
- Drawbacks - Build
- Drawbacks - Features
- Drawbacks - History
- Drawbacks - Performance
- Drawbacks - Price
- Drawbacks - Purpose
- History
- Issue - Build
- Issue - Features
- Issue - Performance
- Issue - Price
- Issue - Purpose
- Issue - Value
- Lacks
- Limitations
- Positive
- Negative
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
Despite its polished and slick interface, the physical discomfort of wearing a bulky headset and managing a battery pack undermines the overall experience.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The Vision Pro’s impressive technology feels mismatched with its cumbersome hardware, reducing the practicality of its usage in public spaces or for extended periods.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Other drawbacks include the inconvenient tethered battery and the slightly unnerving Personas, which are expected to improve after the beta stage.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The external aluminum battery, which is heavier than an iPhone 15 Pro Max, must be kept close at hand during use, which can be inconvenient. The cord connecting the battery to the headset may also get tangled, necessitating occasional disconnection for straightening.
The Wall Street Journal
The Apple Vision Pro’s persona feature, including the eye display function, is currently in beta. The eye display function, which is designed to show where the user is looking, can be difficult to see.
Washington Post
The Vision Pro can disrupt serious meetings due to its digital persona feature, which may appear unnatural and awkward. The digital persona model in the Vision Pro headset restricts normal facial expressions, making the user appear as if they’ve had Botox.
Washington Post
The guest mode, which allows others to try the device, has room for improvement. When activated, it should initiate an eye and hand setup process for the new user. However, it failed to do so in initial attempts, causing confusion and limiting functionality.
@ThatWellnessGuy – AppleInsider
Although the in-built speakers and AirPod Pros deliver good sound quality, they are not comparable to a top-notch surround sound system.
r/apple
Despite its remarkable features, some aspects of the VR headset may come off as gimmicky at its current development stage.
r/apple
The Vision Pro falls short in providing a standout or ‘killer’ app. Its high cost makes it a luxury, best suited for those with disposable income looking for a new gadget to play with.
r/apple
The device seems to have a lack of augmented reality content, with reviews repeatedly mentioning the same features like the hoovering game and F1 track concepts. Despite Apple’s emphasis on augmented reality over virtual reality, their ideas for AR seem to be limited to floating apps and widgets next to your monitor/TV.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
The battery pack of the Apple Vision Pro, which provides around two hours of power, can be seen as a limitation. It’s a wired, external battery that can be inconvenient if the user needs to move around while using the headset.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro’s high price point is a significant deterrent, limiting the device’s initial appeal.
@Andy-rc9db – Washington Post
The repair cost for this device is quite high, reaching $2000. Additionally, Apple Care for this product is priced at an exorbitant $500.
AppleInsider
The Vision Pro is designed for individual use, which may be a downside for those who enjoy a social viewing experience. However, it could be useful in situations where different individuals in a household have different movie preferences.
@dragus359 – Washington Post
While the industrial applications of the device are impressive, it may not be as suitable for general consumer applications outside of gaming. Preference remains for Oculus due to its continued use of controllers.
Sabrina Ortiz – ZDNet
Despite a hefty starting price of $3,499, the Apple Vision Pro has seen robust early sales, with 200,000 units sold within the first ten days of pre-orders.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Extended use of the Vision Pro may require periodic breaks due to its weight and may cause slight red marks on the cheeks.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
A durability test found the front panel to be prone to scratches, emphasizing the importance of using the provided cover and carrying case.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
Some journalists have reported discomfort and struggles with the weight of the Vision Pro headset. However, adjustments to the headband can help distribute the weight more evenly, enhancing comfort.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
There might be some light leakage through the nose bridge, but this is typically only noticeable in darker settings.
Washington Post
The current model of the headset is quite large and obtrusive, which makes it uncomfortable and awkward to use in public. If future iterations become smaller and less conspicuous, it would be more appealing.
@Julie-ns8vm – The Wall Street Journal
The Apple Vision Pro’s weight causes discomfort and dizziness. Its uses are mostly confined to entertainment and simple tasks, making it less appealing to average consumers. There is a demand for improved comfort and clarity rather than additional features.
@Battleneter – The Wall Street Journal
Consumers prefer lightweight and comfortable products for daily use, avoiding bulky or heavy items like, which they see the Apple Vision Pro as, that may cause discomfort.
@webpoet73 – AppleInsider
The Apple Vision Pro, although technologically advanced, can’t replicate the social experience of watching television. The need to wear a substantial piece of hardware to watch TV isn’t desirable for some. Additionally, its high cost makes it less appealing, especially when there are plenty of excellent televisions available for a much lower price.
r/VisionPro
Some users have expressed concerns about the Apple Vision Pro’s suitability for office work, citing fatigue and discomfort after prolonged use, leading them to revert to traditional desktop solutions.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Vision Pro offers a floating keyboard for text input. However, the typing experience may be less than satisfying due to the lack of tactile feedback and the slow pace of typing.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
The Apple Vision Pro may occasionally require manual PIN code input as part of security measures, which can be inconvenient given the typing performance of the device.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
However, the device’s audio does leak out, so for private listening, it’s recommended to use AirPods. The AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C is the ideal choice as it supports lossless audio.
Washington Post
Using the Vision Pro for work tasks can be limiting as not all apps are available unless used as a secondary screen for a Mac laptop.
Washington Post
The user interface can be problematic. Misinterpretations of user actions can lead to unintentional dragging of the page or replaying the video instead of moving the playhead.
@ThatWellnessGuy – AppleInsider
The device provides an exceptional personal portable home theater experience, but lacks video inputs and an option to connect to a high-end sound system for a truly premium setup.
@TechfulThinking – AppleInsider
The lack of video input in the product makes it unsustainable for streaming apps, game consoles, and DVD/Blu-Ray players. The user experience could be negatively impacted when entertaining guests as the product is designed for individual use.
r/technology
Despite the crisp and clear picture quality, the device disappointed with its narrow field of view, creating a ‘ski goggle effect’ where the image seemed far away and surrounded by a noticeable black border. A broader field of view, minimizing the black border effect, is suggested for future versions, which would make the device more appealing for purchase.
r/VisionPro
The external battery of the product seems to be a point of contention, with many seeing it as a major compromise in design and user experience. Its presence is seen as a hurdle in achieving mainstream adoption, as many believe the product would be more suitable for the masses if the battery were internal. The fact that the battery is not hot-swappable is viewed as a significant issue, with suggestions that Apple should have made it possible to easily change batteries on the go without needing to turn off the headset each time.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
During testing, it was observed to drop to 60% after 2 hours and further to 40% after another couple of hours. Continuous use is possible by plugging in the battery with the provided USB-C power adapter.
Mark Spoonauer – Tom’s Guide
Occasional glitches were observed, such as unresponsive apps and issues with Siri and the OpticID sign-in feature.
The Wall Street Journal
Typing on the Apple Vision Pro can be a struggle, making it less suitable for tasks that normally require the use of a keyboard. However, it can be connected to a Mac, providing a giant desktop for Mac apps, significantly enhancing productivity.
Washington Post
Browsing the internet, particularly on sites like YouTube, can be challenging. Despite there being no dedicated app for the Vision Pro, the website works well in Safari. However, interactions such as scrubbing through a video can be difficult due to the device mistaking the action for a different command.
@Julie-ns8vm – The Wall Street Journal
The video quality of the Apple Vision Pro is a concern, with many users suggesting a shift towards VR for better latency, resolution, and refresh rates.
@5MadMovieMakers – The Wall Street Journal
The Apple Vision Pro’s steep price for its current features and use cases isn’t appealing to users, some remarking that there are far better uses of their money than what the device can offer.
r/technology
The device seems to lack a specific purpose, as there are not enough applications to justify its usage. Despite its impressive capabilities, there needs to be a stronger reason for consumers to invest in this expensive device. Despite Apple’s success with their exclusive ecosystem, they seem to have underestimated the effort required from developers to create apps that would make this device worth the high price tag.
@mf99 – Washington Post
Users expressed that the device initially serves as an interesting novelty for display but is likely to be unused and stored away after a short period of time.
r/technology
While there are some cool features like a virtual workspace, the high cost does not justify the benefit, especially for those who do not want to use it primarily for work.
r/technology
The device needs to offer more innovative features, like immersive experiences that transport users to new places or provide unique views of sports games, to make it truly compelling.
The Wall Street Journal
Despite the overall positive experience, the device had its limitations. It was difficult to read small print in low light due to pixelation, and some colors appeared inaccurate. However, the display quality was still superior to the cheaper alternative, the $500 Meta Quest 3.
Washington Post
While using software specifically designed for the Vision Pro is enjoyable, there is a limited range currently available.
Washington Post
As it stands, the headset is in its early stages of development. Further improvements and iterations would be necessary before it can be considered a worthwhile purchase.
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