14 Days to Return: Will I or Won't I?

[geauxmac]

Thanks for more updates. I was kind of surprised by the dramatic shift to returning.

I keep getting more impressed the more I use it. I have pretty large library of movies from Apple plus various videos and downloads in my files app. I just watched a concert video with the Joshua tree environment and it’s just amazing.

The games are pretty neat so far as well.

 

[Surfer13134]

Why do people keep saying things like "I LOVE THIS THING"...but then also want to return it?
Just because of the cost or is it more than that?

Isn't it more accurate to say that you love an idealized and much more refined and better version of this concept?

If you actually "loved" the AVP as it is, you'd keep it, somewhat irrespective of the actual cost, right?

It just feels like we are trying to give this more of a pass than other similar attempts in this space because...

...well..."It's Apple" or something like that.

If this exact product were released by Meta or Google -- I think this forum would bash the heck out of it, and rightfully so.

Its more along the lines of cost. Yes, I do love it, but as of right now the $4,000 I just paid for it makes me and most want to return it. There is just not enough there to justify this high of a price tag IMO.

 

[4sallypat]

Its more along the lines of cost. Yes, I do love it, but as of right now the $4,000 I just paid for it makes me and most want to return it. There is just not enough there to justify this high of a price tag IMO.

For me it's a matter of value.

I don't see the value for a glorified, 3D pair of iPads in my eyes.

For one thing, I have 2 iPads (Pro from work and Gen 9 for personal) but never use it - considered to be an entertainment device. My kids use it a lot for social media, etc...

I guess I was hoping for a more Mac like experience for practical uses.

Not even our iPhones will work natively like our Macs, iPads, Apple Watch, Airpods, etc...

If I can't make/take a basic phone call with my AVP, that's a huge disappointment.

 

[geauxmac]

For me it's a matter of value.

I don't see the value for a glorified, 3D pair of iPads in my eyes.

For one thing, I have 2 iPads (Pro from work and Gen 9 for personal) but never use it - considered to be an entertainment device. My kids use it a lot for social media, etc...

I guess I was hoping for a more Mac like experience for practical uses.

Not even our iPhones will work natively like our Macs, iPads, Apple Watch, Airpods, etc...

If I can't make/take a basic phone call with my AVP, that's a huge disappointment.

It’s doing things an iPad can’t even remotely do so that is a very unfair comparison.

 

[Tdevilsg]

Well I officially returned mine just now. I love where the technology is going and spatial video is incredible (and I'll still record for it on my iPhone for my baby moments). I think it just needs another few more years to perfect it. They asked me a few questions at the store and recorded my comments and that was that.

 

[robgreene]

DAY 9​

Today was a recovery day for me, sleeping most of the day away after an emotionally draining week in the hospital. I took some time to think back through the past 8 days and recall any additional PROs or CONs I may have missed in earlier reviews.

PROs:
• I continue to be surprised by how much I've enjoyed the Solo Band. This is a very unpopular opinion I know, and really shows how different user experience can be from head type to head type. I wonder if others with shaved/bald heads feel similarly?

CONs:
• In the first day I hadn't used the Vision Pro since getting it, I didn't miss it one bit. In fact, when I thought about putting on, I remembered how much work went into not only setting up, but engaging the content. It really makes my eyes tired.
• iPhone compatibility. For all the use of continuity between devices, the inability to make and receive phone calls has to be the most glaring 1.0 omission. The immersion of Vision Pro makes it the perfect use case for making and receiving calls, arguably moreso than iPads or Macs (both of which have this ability). The issue is compounded by the inability to even view your phone's screen clearly while using AVP. While this should be a relatively straightforward software fix, I have not heard any reports of it coming in 1.1. It's almost like Apple is forcing people to give FaceTime calls with Personas a fair shot before sticking with standard voice calls. I keep thinking of Regina George's rebuke of Gretchen Weiners in Mean Girls: "quit trying to make 'fetch' happen."
• Unlike my other Apple Devices, the Vision Pro did not (upon logging in to my iCloud account) bring over all my other accounts (I use 4 different emails). This made for additional setup time, which was all good and well since I was curious to try out the device, but needs to be corrected through a software update.

OVERALL AND WHAT’S NEXT LEFT:
As you'll see below, I'm nearing my decision on the Vision Pro. There are, however, still several things I'm excited to try out before making a final decision: (1) the dual strap, (2) games with controllers, (3) Apple's Immersive shows, (4) Personas in 1.1, (5) Another photo editing session on the Vision Pro, (6) using a bluetooth keyboard with Vision Pro, sans laptop.

WILL I OR WON'T I RETURN IT?
Day 1: 75/25 returning
Day 2: 60/40 returning
Day 3: 65/35 returning
Day 4: 55/45 returning
Day 5: 55/45 keeping
Day 6: 60/40 keeping
Day 7: 55/55 returning
Day 8: 80/20 returning
Day 9: 90/10 returning

 

[mattopotamus]

DAY 9​

Today was a recovery day for me, sleeping most of the day away after an emotionally draining week in the hospital. I took some time to think back through the past 8 days and recall any additional PROs or CONs I may have missed in earlier reviews.

PROs:
• I continue to be surprised by how much I've enjoyed the Solo Band. This is a very unpopular opinion I know, and really shows how different user experience can be from head type to head type. I wonder if others with shaved/bald heads feel similarly?

CONs:
• In the first day I hadn't used the Vision Pro since getting it, I didn't miss it one bit. In fact, when I thought about putting on, I remembered how much work went into not only setting up, but engaging the content. It really makes my eyes tired.
• iPhone compatibility. For all the use of continuity between devices, the inability to make and receive phone calls has to be the most glaring 1.0 omission. The immersion of Vision Pro makes it the perfect use case for making and receiving calls, arguably moreso than iPads or Macs (both of which have this ability). The issue is compounded by the inability to even view your phone's screen clearly while using AVP. While this should be a relatively straightforward software fix, I have not heard any reports of it coming in 1.1. It's almost like Apple is forcing people to give FaceTime calls with Personas a fair shot before sticking with standard voice calls. I keep thinking of Regina George's rebuke of Gretchen Weiners in Mean Girls: "quit trying to make 'fetch' happen."
• Unlike my other Apple Devices, the Vision Pro did not (upon logging in to my iCloud account) bring over all my other accounts (I use 4 different emails). This made for additional setup time, which was all good and well since I was curious to try out the device, but needs to be corrected through a software update.

OVERALL AND WHAT’S NEXT LEFT:
As you'll see below, I'm nearing my decision on the Vision Pro. There are, however, still several things I'm excited to try out before making a final decision: (1) the dual strap, (2) games with controllers, (3) Apple's Immersive shows, (4) Personas in 1.1, (5) Another photo editing session on the Vision Pro, (6) using a bluetooth keyboard with Vision Pro, sans laptop.

WILL I OR WON'T I RETURN IT?
Day 1: 75/25 returning
Day 2: 60/40 returning
Day 3: 65/35 returning
Day 4: 55/45 returning
Day 5: 55/45 keeping
Day 6: 60/40 keeping
Day 7: 55/55 returning
Day 8: 80/20 returning
Day 9: 90/10 returning

You really hit the nail on the head describing not missing it or feeling like “work”. That was one of my biggest take aways. I was trying to force myself to use the device.

 

[4sallypat]

DAY 9​

......
CONs:
• In the first day I hadn't used the Vision Pro since getting it, I didn't miss it one bit. In fact, when I thought about putting on, I remembered how much work went into not only setting up, but engaging the content. It really makes my eyes tired.
• iPhone compatibility. For all the use of continuity between devices, the inability to make and receive phone calls has to be the most glaring 1.0 omission. The immersion of Vision Pro makes it the perfect use case for making and receiving calls, arguably moreso than iPads or Macs (both of which have this ability). The issue is compounded by the inability to even view your phone's screen clearly while using AVP. While this should be a relatively straightforward software fix, I have not heard any reports of it coming in 1.1. It's almost like Apple is forcing people to give FaceTime calls with Personas a fair shot before sticking with standard voice calls. I keep thinking of Regina George's rebuke of Gretchen Weiners in Mean Girls: "quit trying to make 'fetch' happen."
• Unlike my other Apple Devices, the Vision Pro did not (upon logging in to my iCloud account) bring over all my other accounts (I use 4 different emails). This made for additional setup time, which was all good and well since I was curious to try out the device, but needs to be corrected through a software update.

OVERALL AND WHAT’S NEXT LEFT:
As you'll see below, I'm nearing my decision on the Vision Pro. There are, however, still several things I'm excited to try out before making a final decision: (1) the dual strap, (2) games with controllers, (3) Apple's Immersive shows, (4) Personas in 1.1, (5) Another photo editing session on the Vision Pro, (6) using a bluetooth keyboard with Vision Pro, sans laptop.

WILL I OR WON'T I RETURN IT?
Day 1: 75/25 returning
Day 2: 60/40 returning
Day 3: 65/35 returning
Day 4: 55/45 returning
Day 5: 55/45 keeping
Day 6: 60/40 keeping
Day 7: 55/55 returning
Day 8: 80/20 returning
Day 9: 90/10 returning

Same here - after 9 days, I am not looking to put them on my face.

iPhone issue is the biggest missing feature IMO.

I have 5 Apple IDs and it's a nightmare not having the ability to use different IDs due to different device synchronization / app purchases.

I am 100% returning.

 

[deaglecat]

OP. Thanks for the thread. Some pretty significant swings in sentiment over the review period...

I don’t expect we will ever know the scale of return numbers from Apple, except (maybe) if they were so significant to feature as a comment on an earnings call - but given the relatively low sales volume, it probably won’t materially affect Apple profits.

 

[ovrlrd]

Unlike my other Apple Devices, the Vision Pro did not (upon logging in to my iCloud account) bring over all my other accounts (I use 4 different emails). This made for additional setup time, which was all good and well since I was curious to try out the device, but needs to be corrected through a software update.

You might be misremembering this when setting up other devices because you likely have been using “restore from backup” on your other devices. As someone who has setup many new (not restored) iPads and Macbooks, you definitely need to setup the accounts every time. Keychain stores the passwords but it doesn’t sync email account settings. There are other email apps like Sparrow that will do this.

 

[Tdevilsg]

For anybody interested here are the reasons why I returned it. Long story short, it needs to be as convenient and comfortable to put on the headset as it is for me to reach towards my iPhone or macbook pro and now it's not. So I found myself not choosing to put on this nearly 4k device in most instances over my phone or macbook.

"But I have three main problems personally that I couldn't get over, and wasn't willing to take the risk that months from now I would be able to. The first is that I couldn't find myself wanting to wear it for more than 30-45 minutes without the weight bothering me, or my vision getting blurry and headache-inducing. The second is that I found myself reaching out of convenience for my other Apple devices (Macbook M1 Pro, Iphone 15 Pro etc.) instead of wanting to put the headset on and avoid the isolation aspect of the vision pro. And three, there just isn't enough there (yet) in terms of applications to convince me to keep it now versus revisiting the device in the future."

https://www.reddit.com/r/VisionPro/comments/1any318

 

[C-Dub]

DAY 9​

Today was a recovery day for me, sleeping most of the day away after an emotionally draining week in the hospital. I took some time to think back through the past 8 days and recall any additional PROs or CONs I may have missed in earlier reviews.

PROs:
• I continue to be surprised by how much I've enjoyed the Solo Band. This is a very unpopular opinion I know, and really shows how different user experience can be from head type to head type. I wonder if others with shaved/bald heads feel similarly?

CONs:
• In the first day I hadn't used the Vision Pro since getting it, I didn't miss it one bit. In fact, when I thought about putting on, I remembered how much work went into not only setting up, but engaging the content. It really makes my eyes tired.
• iPhone compatibility. For all the use of continuity between devices, the inability to make and receive phone calls has to be the most glaring 1.0 omission. The immersion of Vision Pro makes it the perfect use case for making and receiving calls, arguably moreso than iPads or Macs (both of which have this ability). The issue is compounded by the inability to even view your phone's screen clearly while using AVP. While this should be a relatively straightforward software fix, I have not heard any reports of it coming in 1.1. It's almost like Apple is forcing people to give FaceTime calls with Personas a fair shot before sticking with standard voice calls. I keep thinking of Regina George's rebuke of Gretchen Weiners in Mean Girls: "quit trying to make 'fetch' happen."
• Unlike my other Apple Devices, the Vision Pro did not (upon logging in to my iCloud account) bring over all my other accounts (I use 4 different emails). This made for additional setup time, which was all good and well since I was curious to try out the device, but needs to be corrected through a software update.

OVERALL AND WHAT’S NEXT LEFT:
As you'll see below, I'm nearing my decision on the Vision Pro. There are, however, still several things I'm excited to try out before making a final decision: (1) the dual strap, (2) games with controllers, (3) Apple's Immersive shows, (4) Personas in 1.1, (5) Another photo editing session on the Vision Pro, (6) using a bluetooth keyboard with Vision Pro, sans laptop.

WILL I OR WON'T I RETURN IT?
Day 1: 75/25 returning
Day 2: 60/40 returning
Day 3: 65/35 returning
Day 4: 55/45 returning
Day 5: 55/45 keeping
Day 6: 60/40 keeping
Day 7: 55/55 returning
Day 8: 80/20 returning
Day 9: 90/10 returning

I've been following your thread since day 1 and have generally the same consensus on the will return vs. not return ratio. Today will be my day to return the AVP and hope to get one again someday when I can stand wearing it for more than 1 hr at a time at a cheaper price point

 

[robgreene]

You might be misremembering this when setting up other devices because you likely have been using “restore from backup” on your other devices. As someone who has setup many new (not restored) iPads and Macbooks, you definitely need to setup the accounts every time. Keychain stores the passwords but it doesn’t sync email account settings. There are other email apps like Sparrow that will do this.

I NEVER "restore from backup." All my files are stored in iCloud and Dropbox, so I prefer to just download Adobe Creative Suite and just start fresh.

I have not had to add my extra iCloud and Gmail addresses in years. I do have to type in password again, but they are already set up under the "accounts" section of System Settings.

 

[Surfer13134]

Well, today is the day I like others choose to return the AVP. I just find myself using it less and less every passing day mainly due to the lack of apps and poor screen mirroring as I mentioned before. What's funny is when I got there a lady was already being helped as she was returning hers as well, she said hers was having issues with it shutting down but she just wanted to return it, and then when I left about 3 spots behind me another guy was in to return his as well.

The Apple rep that did the return was very nice and the whole thing took about 2 minutes max (Im not sure if they wanted us out as fast as possible as we did have a small crowd asking us questions on what we thought of it and why we returned them). But they did ask if Apple could contact me about a survey on what I thought about the AVP and why I returned it so we shall how that goes.

 

[4sallypat]

Well, today is the day I like others choose to return the AVP. I just find myself using it less and less every passing day mainly due to the lack of apps and poor screen mirroring as I mentioned before. What's funny is when I got there a lady was already being helped as she was returning hers as well, she said hers was having issues with it shutting down but she just wanted to return it, and then when I left about 3 spots behind me another guy was in to return his as well.

The Apple rep that did the return was very nice and the whole thing took about 2 minutes max (Im not sure if they wanted us out as fast as possible as we did have a small crowd asking us questions on what we thought of it and why we returned them). But they did ask if Apple could contact me about a survey on what I thought about the AVP and why I returned it so we shall how that goes.

Wonder if Apple will contact me when I return it via UPS ?

 

[AdonisSMU]

Wonder if Apple will contact me when I return it via UPS ?

AVP didnt work for you too?

 

[zakarhino]

The more I use it the more my eyes strain and now I'm getting some really weird sensation where my eyes think 2D content on any display is actually 3D. Like the white text of this forum post I'm writing is 'popping out' of the dark background.

I am genuinely considering never putting a Vision Pro on again.

 

[4sallypat]

AVP didnt work for you too?

Nope, it was so bad, I screamed and yelled at it because I had to pull off the VP from my face to answer or make phone calls from my 2 iPhones.

Then when I put it back on, the network would drop and I have to reconnect, and I have to enter my PIN code before Optic ID would scan my eyeballs.

Even my EV car can handle 2 iPhones simultaneously while driving.

You would think AVP that used the iPhone first to initialize would be fully transferrable like my Macs do ?

At least my Macs and iPhones all integrate perfectly - calls, messages, Facetime, emails, etc...

 

[erikkfi]

I don’t expect we will ever know the scale of return numbers from Apple, except (maybe) if they were so significant to feature as a comment on an earnings call

“Return volume was better than our expectations and it’s incredible how much our customers love the device. We’re incredibly pleased.”

 

[robgreene]

I'm getting some really weird sensation where my eyes think 2D content on any display is actually 3D.

So funny you mention this. I had a similar sensation today when looking at my phone. Very trippy. I wonder if the @MacRumors admins have seen any reports of this in other threads as well?

 

[AdonisSMU]

Nope, it was so bad, I screamed and yelled at it because I had to pull off the VP from my face to answer or make phone calls from my 2 iPhones.

Then when I put it back on, the network would drop and I have to reconnect, and I have to enter my PIN code before Optic ID would scan my eyeballs.

Even my EV car can handle 2 iPhones simultaneously while driving.

You would think AVP that used the iPhone first to initialize would be fully transferrable like my Macs do ?

At least my Macs and iPhones all integrate perfectly - calls, messages, Facetime, emails, etc...

Good point. You cant put multiple phone numbers in your AVP… crazy. So the software just isnt at parity with other Apple devices yet.

 

[Night Spring]

Good point. You cant put multiple phone numbers in your AVP… crazy. So the software just isnt at parity with other Apple devices yet.

wait, you can put multiple phone numbers into iPhones/iPads/macs? Forgive my ignorance, I don't use phones. I'm hard of hearing, so I can't hear people over the phone.

 

[robgreene]

DAY 10​

Photo shoot in the morning. Then church. Then Superbowl. I did use the Vision Pro lightly in amongst the busyness, along with letting friends try it during our Superbowl party. Here's what I learned:

PROs:
• This thing gets easier and easier to both navigate AND find a fit for. I have stayed on Solo band this entire time, and really feel confident that this will be my go-to strap if I keep the device.
• Friends' first impressions were strong. "I'm most impressed by how intuitive it is." "This is the future." etc.
• Can't emphasize strongly enough how EASY view mirroring is in the AVP. I hope this level of connectivity becomes the new standard of how all implementations of Airplay will function moving forward.

CONs:
• Lack of Dropbox support is a major deterrent for me. I opted to move away from external drives in favor of Dropbox over a decade ago, and now host 40-50 TB of data on our account, none of which can be accessed and stored locally on my Vision Pro (a major reason for my decision to upgrade to the 512GB storage option).
• When I first tried to turn on the device, instead of an Apple, I got an icon that looked like it was suggesting I needed to connect the AVP to my MacBook. I unplugged the power, plugged back in, and it booted up just fine, but this was not something I expected to encounter on a 10-day old device.

OVERALL AND WHAT’S NEXT LEFT:
While the company could easily reverse it's decision at any moment, Dropbox's decision to exclude their iPad app from the Vision Pro app store (and along with it, access through Apple's Files app) may be the nail in the coffin for me. It's important to me that the Vision Pro function as a standalone work device, and without the ability to access all my work files locally, it greatly limits the device's work appeal for my use case.

Today I'll be heading to Starbucks to edit photos again with the Vision Pro. This evening, I'll try out the dual strap, and games with controllers. Assuming the trend towards returning continues, I will also provide a detailed recap of the return process, and how I felt after returning it, as a final post to the thread.

WILL I OR WON'T I RETURN IT?
Day 1: 75/25 returning
Day 2: 60/40 returning
Day 3: 65/35 returning
Day 4: 55/45 returning
Day 5: 55/45 keeping
Day 6: 60/40 keeping
Day 7: 55/55 returning
Day 8: 80/20 returning
Day 9: 90/10 returning
Day 10: 95/5 returning

 

[Surfer13134]

Wonder if Apple will contact me when I return it via UPS ?

Not sure, it was a little screen that came up and the guy asked me if I would like to share my thoughts about the AVP and I said sure so he asked me to fill out this little contact form. I am sure they may since it's such a new product and appears to have higher than normal return rate.

 

[cardfan]

DAY 10​

Photo shoot in the morning. Then church. Then Superbowl. I did use the Vision Pro lightly in amongst the busyness, along with letting friends try it during our Superbowl party. Here's what I learned:

PROs:
• This thing gets easier and easier to both navigate AND find a fit for. I have stayed on Solo band this entire time, and really feel confident that this will be my go-to strap if I keep the device.
• Friends' first impressions were strong. "I'm most impressed by how intuitive it is." "This is the future." etc.
• Can't emphasize strongly enough how EASY view mirroring is in the AVP. I hope this level of connectivity becomes the new standard of how all implementations of Airplay will function moving forward.

CONs:
• Lack of Dropbox support is a major deterrent for me. I opted to move away from external drives in favor of Dropbox over a decade ago, and now host 40-50 TB of data on our account, none of which can be accessed and stored locally on my Vision Pro (a major reason for my decision to upgrade to the 512GB storage option).
• When I first tried to turn on the device, instead of an Apple, I got an icon that looked like it was suggesting I needed to connect the AVP to my MacBook. I unplugged the power, plugged back in, and it booted up just fine, but this was not something I expected to encounter on a 10-day old device.

OVERALL AND WHAT’S NEXT LEFT:
While the company could easily reverse it's decision at any moment, Dropbox's decision to exclude their iPad app from the Vision Pro app store (and along with it, access through Apple's Files app) may be the nail in the coffin for me. It's important to me that the Vision Pro function as a standalone work device, and without the ability to access all my work files locally, it greatly limits the device's work appeal for my use case.

Today I'll be heading to Starbucks to edit photos again with the Vision Pro. This evening, I'll try out the dual strap, and games with controllers. Assuming the trend towards returning continues, I will also provide a detailed recap of the return process, and how I felt after returning it, as a final post to the thread.

WILL I OR WON'T I RETURN IT?
Day 1: 75/25 returning
Day 2: 60/40 returning
Day 3: 65/35 returning
Day 4: 55/45 returning
Day 5: 55/45 keeping
Day 6: 60/40 keeping
Day 7: 55/55 returning
Day 8: 80/20 returning
Day 9: 90/10 returning
Day 10: 95/5 returning

Been following along but the latest updates aren’t making much sense to me. The first plane trip went well for you. The return trip your devices needed charged and cables were a mess. I think that can be mitigated some (though I don’t work on planes…that’s just me..not worth hassle).

But everything sounds generally positive but maybe for some eye strain or tiredness from using the ui. You even rave about the solo strap and comfort which is kind of a big thing if you plan on keeping.

Then this Dropbox thing. Is it even important to have if you use your Mac to do the work? All the files would be on Mac or accessed from Dropbox via Mac anyways. Is there some vision or iPad app you’d use? I’d imagine Dropbox is coming. But issues like this will pop up on a gen 0 device and 1.0 os.

I guess all I’m saying is I’d focus on that Mac use with avp. There’s negatives to every device.