It offers an experience that amazes many people who use it.
A Headset Design That Is Very Apple
Lets start with the design of the headset.
The headset clearly shows the Apple design language in multiple ways.
Will Graf/MakeUseOf
It feels high-quality, which it should, since it costs a lot.
The Vision Pro is a beautiful piece of hardware, and I really like how it looks.
Arguably, the most critical aspect of this headset is how comfortable it is for people.
The Apple Vision Pro is a remarkable piece of technology that is genuinely fun to use and put a bit of excitement back into the technology space again. But it’s not perfect, and its issues may very well question if spatial computers or mixed reality headsets deserve a place in our day-to-day lives.
The Solo Knit Band is by far the coolest-looking one and uses an incredibly soft material.
Dont worry if you are concerned you will be given the wrong Light Seal, though.
you might swap it out in an Apple Store.
Will Graf / MakeUseOf
One thing many people have noted when trying the Apple Vision Pro is the equipment’s weight.
Since the headset is mainly made of glass and aluminum, it certainly isn’t light.
The Vision Pro can weigh 600-650g (depending on which headband and Light Seal you use).
Will Graf / MakeUseOf
Ultimately, comfort with this headset is not universal.
It depends on the person, which band works for the user, the Light Seal and Light Cushion.
Either way, the headset is not light.
Will Graf / MakeUseOf
The eye tracking in the Vision Pro is on point.
I didn’t experience much delay when trying to select something.
However, that’s not to say there isn’t a learning curve.
Will Graf / MakeUseOf
The hand tracking is pretty good, too, but its not bulletproof.
I would say it works 85% of the time.
Does it ruin the overall experience?
Apple
Not for me, but it was annoying when I encountered it.
Hopefully, its something related to software and can be improved in the future.
And that feeling leaves an imprint on you slightly.
Will Graf/MakeUseOf
The Vision Pro does make you feel like your apps are in your environment.
They also project shadows in your space underneath them.
The quality of the displays in the Vision Pro helps the experience make it as good as it is.
There are two displays, one for each eye and they use mico-OLED technology.
Thats simply a stretch, in my opinion.
When you put on the headset, you basically see a black border surrounding the screens.
And its not discrete, its instantly noticeable.
It simply doesnt do this headset justice.
The Vision Pro’s productivity features are what initially attracted me to owning the headset.
Apple
However, the headset didn’t fully live up to my expectations in this area.
It almost feels like you are truly reliving the moment you captured.
But it’s not perfect.
Videos taken on the Vision Pro are noticeably more immersive, certainly credited to the difference in hardware.
It’s great that the ability to take these kinds of videos is fantastic.
Interacting with your content and applications in this form feels super cool and futuristic.
The Vision Pro doesnt use Face ID or Touch ID for biometric authentication.
It uses what Apple calls Optic ID.
Simply put, the headset scans your eyes to unlock it.
Apple
During my time using the headset, Optic ID worked well in the beginning.
I tried setting up Optic ID with the new Light Seal, but that didnt fix it.
In terms of silicon, the Apple Vision Pro uses two chips.
Image Credit:Apple
The M2 chip, the central processor on board, powers the experience.
There is also a new dedicated chip for processing the cameras and sensors, called the R1 chip.
The R1 makes it to where the Vision Pro only has a 12ms delay with the passthrough video.
Breaking down the M2 chip, its the 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU variant with 16GB of RAM.
For context, its the same chip that is in Apples 15-inch MacBook Air.
The Vision Pro also supports up to 1TB of storage.
Thats not the case if you know the shortcomings of cameras and use the headset in non-perfect conditions.
Again, the headset uses cameras to create this image, since it is not transparent.
I was able to walk around my house while using the headset with no problems.
The operating system comes with a handful of native first-party Vision Pro apps.
you could, however, initiate the iPad version of these apps.
Currently, Apple says there are now over 1000 apps for Vision Pro.
There are other examples of how visionOS still has a ways to go.
Personas are in beta.
Thankfully, visionOS 1.0.3 fixed that.
Will Graf / MakeUseOf
Overall, I enjoyed using visionOS, despite it not feeling complete.
If you have used iOS or iPadOS, you’ll know your way around visionOS.
I’ll keep this short: EyeSight needs work.
Will Graf / MakeUseOf
It looks pretty low quality at many angles, especially if you get up close to the headset.
I like the idea of EyeSight, but the execution is not as great as I expected.
Should You Buy Apple Vision Pro?
Despite being a first-generation machine, I loved using it, even though I ended up returning it.
