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Apple Vision Pro Battery Pack Power Cable is Removable
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And naturally for Apple technicians to service the system.Possible pass-through for HDMI sources and video recording to and from a computer.
I hope it includes battery health monitoring at least
The cable that connects the Vision Pro battery pack to the headset for power purposes appears to be fixed in place, but it can in fact be removed if necessary.
Journalist Ray Wong was able to use a SIM card pin to "unlock" the cable, and after he did that, it was able to be removed from the battery pack. There is a small hole located next to the cable, which is apparently a locking mechanism.
The cable that attaches the battery pack to the headset looks similar to a Lightning cable, but it has too many pins to be Lightning. Instead, it is a proprietary cable that won't be able to be connected to other accessories or used for another purpose.
Apple likely made the cable removable so that it can be swapped out without the need to replace the entire battery pack should the cable get damaged in some way.
The Vision Pro ships with one battery, and additional modules can be purchased for $199 each. Each battery powers the Vision Pro for somewhere around two to three hours depending on content. The battery also has a USB-C port that can be used with a USB-C cable for charging the battery, with passthrough charging supported.
Article Link: Apple Vision Pro Battery Pack Power Cable is Removable
I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some special features the battery pack provides, since it’s a lot larger than indicated by its mAh’s. What those features are, who knows? Perhaps there’s some advanced power management. Or it may have nothing to do with power at all. I’d imagine Apple would have provided a separate power cable to plug into the wall that doesn’t require the presence of the battery pack at all if the battery pack weren’t doing something important. Of course, some of the bulk is likely elements of an AC adapter combined with battery pack.
It’d be interesting for someone like iFixit to take it apart.
It’d be interesting for someone like iFixit to take it apart.
They’re calling the cable between the battery and the headset “woven USB-C cable?”Which is why Apple calling it a "woven USB-C cable" is so funny
And I don't think it is to reduce cost. I think Apple wanted a strong locking mechanism on both sides and USB-C wasn't good enough.
No, not reducing the cost of the battery, reducing the cost on the manufacturing line as, when a battery fails, they don’t have to teardown a battery + integrated cable. They just disconnect the cable, teardown the battery and the cable just gets quickly attached to a working battery, packed and shipped.
And, it even saves on the support side, “My cat ate my cable”. Genius goes into the back, removes the chewed cable and attaches a replacement one (with an integrated cable, they’d have had to replace the entire unit. It actually likely costs them a bit more to engineer a port but, in the long run, it saves money.
So true. I have never had a bad connection with my Lightning version iPhone in the car, but it’s about 50/50 and having to constantly replug to get CarPlay on my 15 Pro
This is good news. Imagine face explosion by 3rd party battery!
Then it’s totally apples fault to not innovate their proprietary lightning cable to be much better than USB-C counterpart in the past 10 years, for all aspects. MacBook is not charged via lightning. Mac is not powered by lightning, just two examples.
My monitors each have a proprietary brick between the monitor and the outlet. They essentially work the same way as the power brick on the Vision Pro, but without the battery.
And triggers uncomfortable feeling too just by looking at it.
From the same company that over charges for ram.
...and here's the mini version of lightning. Apple's been using this to connect the AirPods max headband to each earcup:
And just like the AVP battery, you detach the APM headband from each ear cup with a SIM extraction tool. Doesn't matter if it's liquidmetal or just regular metal. Either works. (Long-time members will get the reference)
Anyway, seems like a pattern.
More here: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/01/19/airpods-max-headband-removable-interchangeable/
I don't think I could justify buying one of these for you, since it seems the only thing you want it for is to use it as a monitor.
Assuming I were buying these to give away, I would only choose recipients who were excited about several ways they would be using it. If they say things like, "this is really expensive, compared to a 4K tv", or "the Quest 3 does VR for 1/7 the price", then they probably aren't going to get enough out of it to appreciate the gift.
I'm not buying for other people, only one for myself. But if you can talk yourself out of buying Apple Vision Pro with one argument (other than you simply can't afford it), then it's probably best for you that you don't get it.