Despite my initial skepticism of Spatial Computing, and the hurdles to get eye lenses, Apple Vision Pro is wildly impressive.
I've been using the Apple Vision Pro for almost a month now. If you've read other reviews or watched any videos about it, what you've seen is true: Apple's first "spatial computer" is heavy, and the battery life is just alright, but its eye tracking is impressive, and the displays are stunning. It feels like I'm living in the future every time I wear Apple's headset. Although I had to jump through hoops to use the Apple Vision Pro due to my eyesight prescription, I have no regrets about going through that ordeal to try it.
Even if my job didn't require me to stay on top of the latest technology trends, I would buy and keep this device. Some of the magic has faded for me at this point, but I'm still fascinated and curious each time I use Apple Vision Pro. The more I use it, the more I want to figure out workflows, look through the App Store for new apps to try, or just enjoy it by sitting back and watching a movie in it. I haven't felt this engaged and interested in a device since I first started using the iPad full-time for work.
To be clear: I'm not ready to use the Apple Vision Pro full-time for work. It's not just that it isn't ready for that; my eyes aren't ready. But the iPad wasn't ready (and some argue it still isn't) for me to begin using it as my daily driver. Below, I'll recap what I like and don't like about the Apple Vision Pro, which I can promise you will change a lot over the coming weeks and months, especially as Apple releases updates, developers release new apps, and I figure out new ways to use the headset.
Apple Vision Pro
After nearly a month of using Apple Vision Pro, it’s clear it’s a first-gen product that needs work, but it’s also clear spatial computing isn’t a marketing term; it’s the future. The Apple Vision Pro is the best VR/AR headset (a lot of) money can buy right now.
Pros
- Crisp, clear displays
- Hand and eye tracking is fantastic
- Spatial Computing feels like the future
Cons
- Due to its size, comfort can be an issue
- Expensive. Really expensive
- Battery life isn't all that impressive
$3499 at Apple
Specs, pricing, and availability
The Apple Vision Pro is available directly from Apple, with the headset starting at $3,500 for the 256GB model. It also comes with 512GB or 1TB of storage for $3,700 and $3,900, respectively. If you need corrective lenses, those start at $99.
Apple Vision Pro
Brand Apple Resolution (per eye) 3660 x 3200 per eye Display Type Micro-OLED Storage 1TB / 2TB / 4TB Connectivity Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Battery Life 2-2.5 hours (estimated) Tracking Technology LEDs and infrared cameras Audio Two speakers with spatial audio Weight 22.9 ounces (650 grams) Refresh rate 90Hz Processor Apple M2 + Apple R1 RAM 16GB unified memory
What I like about Apple Vision Pro
Spatial Computing
When Apple announced the Vision Pro, and in the months leading up to its release, it made it clear it didn't consider the Vision Pro a VR or AR headset. Instead, it's the company's first spatial computing device.
I made light of Spatial Computing when I first heard the term, because I didn't understand what Apple meant by it, but I get it now.
I made light of Spatial Computing when I first heard the term, because I didn't understand what Apple meant by it, but I get it now. I imagine most people who've yet to use the Vision Pro don't quite get the concept either, including its potential.
With Spatial Computing right now, you can place apps and windows anywhere in your environment, walk away, and come back to those windows in the same exact spot, waiting for your input or interaction. You don't have to create and recreate boundaries every time you leave a room.
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You can also mirror your Mac's display, using your keyboard and trackpad to control your spatial world to get real work done. You can place apps, conversations, files, and windows all around you — none of which move or disappear without you taking action — all the while your surroundings are still visible and accessible.
Is it perfect? No. The video pass-through is often grainy and lacks the same color and overall quality as real life, but it's the best I've personally experienced, including compared to Meta Quest 3. After you immerse yourself and get into a flow, you forget you're wearing a computer. Well, for the most part.
I wish there was a way to save apps and windows on a room-by-room basis that I can bring back and recreate on demand. For instance, I have certain apps placed in a specific way when I'm in my office, but when I move to the living room, I still use some of those apps, such as Apple Music, Messages, and Ivory. I have to relocate the apps I do use, and that's tedious.
Magic Keyboard (it's a must)
During my first few days of using the Vision Pro, I didn't have a keyboard paired to it, and I often felt like the headset was a one-way device, offering plenty of content for me to consume, but I didn't have a reliable way for me to input and be more productive.
Then, I paired a Bluetooth keyboard to the headset, and that changed the entire experience. Instead of feeling like I had to consume content, because that was the easiest to do, a keyboard instantly unlocked the ability for me to now create content.
At one point, I spent nearly six hours wearing the headset during normal working hours. I was editing stories, writing emails, talking to my wife on the Messages app, and exchanging countless messages in Slack. None of that would have been possible without the keyboard. I would have given up in the first 10 minutes. Eventually, I started using a Magic Keyboard (with the Magic Trackpad, which is a must-have if you're going to work in Word docs or Safari a lot), and the typing experience got even better.
I used Apple's Magic Keyboard specifically for its tight integration between the headset and the keyboard. With a standard Bluetooth keyboard, every time you switch text fields, the virtual keyboard shows up by default — often hiding the text field you need to see.
With the Magic Keyboard, the virtual keyboard only shows up when the headset can't see the keyboard on your desk or lap. So, if you're looking at a window off to your side or behind you, for example. When the Magic Keyboard can be seen by the headsets' cameras, the autocorrect bar will hover over the physical keyboard.
If you buy an Apple Vision Pro, do yourself a favor and buy a Magic Keyboard at the same time for $99 . Apple should honestly bundle them.
If you think you'll get used to the virtual keyboard and become a proficient typist with it, you won't. It's as cumbersome of an input method as any other I've used. It's only tolerable for quick replies to emails, entering a website in Safari, or a brief reply in the Messages app. A physical keyboard is a must for the Vision Pro.
Fantastic entertainment
There's no arguing the most popular use of a VR and AR headset is entertainment. Be it watching a movie in a virtual theater or playing a game that makes you get up and move your body, it's hard to match the level of entertainment a headset offers.
The Apple Vision Pro is no different. I watched part of the second season of The Bear using the Vision Pro, streamed countless YouTube videos via the Juno app, and experimented with the immersive content available on the Apple TV app (truthfully, some of it, including the 3D movies on Disney+, made me sick, so, I didn't watch too much).
There aren't any fitness apps available now. If there were, I wouldn't use them due to the weight of the Vision Pro. I can't imagine quickly doing multiple movements during a workout and not straining my neck. Also, working out in a VR/AR headset means the cushions around your face are going to get full of sweat and eventually stink. You can buy replacement light seals for the Vision Pro when you need them, but that will add up fast.
My favorite entertainment use for the Vision Pro has been gaming. I stream games from my PS5 to the Vision Pro using the MirrorPlay app, and then I use a PS5 controller paired to the headset. The setup is painless, taking just a few minutes to enter a pairing code and my PS credentials. Now, whenever I launch the app, my PS5 wakes up, and I can play any game I own.
I spent a lot of time playing Fortnite, and while there's a bit of an inherent lag because of how the entire setup works, I was able to play and feel competitive without delayed movements, even when encountering other players. I haven't won a match yet while wearing Vision Pro, but it'll happen.
What I didn't like about Apple Vision Pro
Comfort, or lack thereof
I've already detailed my complicated journey to getting an Apple Vision Pro. I can't use the ZEISS prescription lenses that Apple offers thanks to poor eyesight. I got fitted for soft contact lenses that required special ordering. It took about three weeks for them to come in, but while waiting, I used contacts that were "close enough" to my prescription. Most days, I haven't had an issue with my eyes or their comfort level or how well I can see while wearing the headset. On the other days, however, I struggle to see clearly and find myself having to take frequent breaks or give up on wearing contacts altogether.
"Years ago, I swore off contacts for good. It's been frustrating having to wear them again, including deciding when to put them in and take them out, whenever I want to use Apple Vision Pro."
Years ago, I swore off contacts for good. It's been frustrating having to wear them again, including deciding when to put them in and take them out, whenever I want to use Apple Vision Pro. I'd much prefer it if ZEISS (or some other third-party vendor) would make high-index lens inserts. I'd like to put the headset on or off interchangeably all day long, no contacts required.
I'm fully aware this isn't a problem specific to the Apple Vision Pro and its design, but rather me, because of my specific prescription that ZEISS doesn't support. But, a quick search on Threads, X, and Reddit, returns posts from people in a similar situation to me. The ideal solution is for someone to figure out a way to make high-index lenses for the Apple Vision Pro that I and others require.
I spent months looking for high-index lenses for the Quest 3 since ZEISS didn't make them. I eventually found a third-party company, and it completely changed my experience with using the Quest 3.
Contact lenses and lens inserts aside, one comfort-related aspect I had mixed feelings about is the Solo Knit headband that comes preinstalled on the Vision Pro. It has a single point of contact with the back of your head and a knob on the side that you use to control its tightness. I absolutely love that it looks great and feels comfortable — especially when I nail the alignment and tightness of the band. But it takes a lot of work to get it there… every single time I wear the Vision Pro.
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About a week into my testing, I swapped out the Solo Knit headband for the included Dual Loop Band, and let me tell you, it makes a world of difference having two straps — one across the back of your head, the other across the top of it. It improves the comfort level of wearing Vision Pro for an extended amount of time, and makes the process of putting on the headset instantaneous instead of one that requires constant fiddling and adjustment.
It's a shame, too. As aesthetically pleasing as the Solo Knit Band is, the Dual Loop Band is more comfortable and easier to use.
EyeSight and feeling lonely
The biggest downside to the Apple Vision Pro is how lonely it starts to feel when you're wearing it, including for others.
There's a live feed of your surroundings, and you can see and interact with your loved ones or friends in front of you. My family tells me they're left with the impression that — once the headset is on my head — I'm no longer truly present. For all they know, I'm doom-scrolling a TikTok feed or catching up on the latest Hulu series on Disney+.
Apple tried to work around the loneliness of wearing its headset with EyeSight, which uses a screen on the front of the Apple Vision Pro to show a digital recreation of your eyes. It's supposed to appear as if you're looking and paying attention to the analog world. But all the people I've worn the headset around agree that my digital eyes are not effective. Some even said it's creepy.
And I get it. I've walked a few friends and family through a short demo of Apple Vision Pro, allowing them to wear the headset and get an idea of what it's like to use. Although I was mirroring the Vision Pro's display to my TV or iPad Pro, so I could see everything they could, I felt hesitation talking to them at that moment, afraid I was going to interrupt what they were doing in the headset.
Despite Apple's best efforts with EyeSight, covering half of your face with a computer is uncanny and the opposite of social.
Those weird Personas
Your Persona is a digital version of you that's used during video calls while you're wearing Vision Pro. Apple makes it clear its Persona feature is in beta during setup and in the Settings app, but I've yet to experience a positive reaction when someone sees my Persona.
At one point, I surprised my work colleagues by attending a Google Meet team call as my Persona. And, well, this reaction to them seeing it for the first time says it all (watch Pocket-lint's copy editor, Kenzie, in the top-right corner):
via GIPHY
On another occasion when I was using Vision Pro, my wife FaceTime'd me, and within 30 seconds, she ended our call. She called me back to talk on a regular phone call; she couldn't bring herself to have a conversation with my digital equivalent.
My Persona and those I've seen from other Vision Pro users all look clunky and not life-like or good. They do a decent job of capturing and recreating how you look, but there's a lot of work to be done before they are a valid replacement. Reports indicate that Personas are a lot better in the visionOS 1.1 beta, but I haven't personally tested or experienced the improvements.
The $3,500 question on everyone's mind
Is the Apple Vision Pro worth $3,500? By the time you add prescription lenses, extra storage, a carrying case, and any other accessories (like the Magic Keyboard), you're actually going to spend over $4,000. So, the short answer is: No.
Apple Vision Pro
It's complicated $3499 at Apple
In its current form, which includes a limited (but growing) app selection, Apple Vision Pro is not worth the price.
It's a device meant for developers and bleeding-edge early adopters who have disposable income and who don't mind experiencing the growing pains of a first-generation platform that will bear little resemblance to its current form in a few years. For many people, however, including myself, the most exciting part about using the Apple Vision Pro is just that: Experiencing it first, at this early stage.
