Apple Vision Pro Testers Share Impressions: 'By Far the Best Headset'

[sunapple]

Is this going to be hit in the tech/Apple nerd circles? Probably yes.

Is this going to be mass selling product like iPhone, iPod, iPad... Definitely not. Definitely not with this price-point. Also it does not solve any actual problem and you can't flex with it on the street showing your higher class to others.

Apple has the money to invest big in this next-level hardware and also has enough cash reserve to sell very few of them at first. Whatever they initially sell, it's worth getting the product to market and it will create an opportunity for a mass-market version later on. That is what Apple can do nowadays and it may be the biggest flex of the entire launch.

 

[JSteele]

I haven't been able to pinpoint 5k worth of value to my life. I will probably skip Gen 1 because of this, but exciting to see where this tech could go in the future. It seems like a TV replacement for me, but the actual size of the virtual TV screen you display likely won't be true 4k since it will only take up 70% of the display. Once it can bring my Mac windows out of my MacBook Desktop and into the AR space and keep a high resolution (multi-monitor setup), it will be an interesting toy for work.

Make a larger 16" iPad with a 16:9 native resolution, 6000 nits brightness over 30% of the screen and OLED already man, that I will buy today

 

[Rogifan]

I know this is mostly a rhetorical question, but why didn’t Tim Cook or any other Apple executive actually wear the device on stage yesterday? They spent 40 minutes talking about it but no one ever put one on.

 

[Exponent]

I can see lots of educational and engineering and design use cases. Imagine shopping for homes and the realtor hands you one of these and you can immediately walk through an empty (or cluttered?) home and experience it furnished or altered in many different ways. Imagine the military using it to walk through mission plans. Planning events....

All this is already done with existing VR solutions. Ones that don’t need to be approved by Apple to be sold in their App Store.

 

[noblesoul117]

This example of yours just makes me sad.

So… you're out what you call "camping" and you'd rather be huddled up, lying down I guess (since you seem to be doing a lot of lying down) watching TV with a large chunk of electronic strapped to your head, worrying about battery life, instead of sitting outside watching the universe revolve, listening to the silence…

We really do have very different ideas of what solving problems mean.

For the love of God, AVP is eliciting the most ignorant of automatic assumptions from people. One of my comments was already removed in another thread for calling out a person’s moronic-ness (well, calling them a moron).

When I’m on the road full time, I still have large swaths of computer/consumption/creation time in my schedule. As opposed to home life where I barely interact with nature, when I’m on the road nature becomes my default environment (unless I’m urban camping). I lift my SUV tailgate and there it is. I open my driver door and there it is. Beautiful. I don’t have to go anywhere or do anything to be with it, which means most of my down time, contemplative time, calm time, etc is WITH NATURE by default.

Or maybe people just don’t understand ‘vanlife’. It’s about centering one’s life around nature/travel, but still having a life. Still computing and using the internet, not forsaking them to be a traveling monk or Luddite hippie. (Also, vanlife also does not look like your idyllic photo 40-80% of the time, especially for urban parking/exploring. When I go camping-camping, it’s an event for which I am present. When I’m just living my “alt life” with my SUV, I use computers as much as at home for work etc, or possibly slightly less because I do engage the environment and different towns more.)

So what I’m saying is that AVP is the best computer solution for all the computing I already do on the road.

“Replacing nature” or ignoring it is always senseless and something I stand against. It’s why I’ve never cared for any of the previously announced headsets which immerse people in fake environments or games. (Looking at you, Meta, with your avatar-based, Sims-style life.) I was very cynical of all these headsets and had no expectations for Apple’s version.

But Apple solved problem of those gimmicks by making AVP a functional standalone computer, instead of a dumb toy that immerses you in fake realities. Which means it can do productive things, instead of wasting one’s time or replacing reality.

So at 10pm, when it’s dark and I don’t feel like making a campfire and hanging out with the wildlife, when I’m tucked in my truck, lying down, using my MacBook to watch a movie anyway, yeah, AVP is a better computer than the MacBook or iPhone or iPad. No arching up my knees for the MBA to lean against them, and no tiring my arm to hold a mobile device.

Get it yet?

AVP is a paradigm shift that only movies have foretold. Maybe it’ll take a while for people to adjust. I should save my sanity and get off the internet until the paradigm adjusts.

Apple’s also calling AVP a “spatial computer” instead of a gimmicky toy-like headset, because they foresee it working as a standalone computer, like we already have in Mac and iPhone and iPad. So some people will choose to have it as their only computer. I’m already betting I’ll prefer editing photos on AVP over a Mac screen.

So, it doesn’t mean AVP users will be any more disconnected from nature and reality than people already are today, staring into screens of all sizes. They’re just choosing a different computer.

My whole original post was that there’s now a better computer for some situations than the computers I’ve been using in those situations. Laying down is literally the best position for AVP, which is 30-50% of my computing posture when out in my SUV.

PS: I have a 2kwh EcoFlow battery in my setup + 300w solar array on my roof to charge it. I won’t have any trouble keeping AVP charged. Ironically, I’ll probably never use it for more than 2-4h durations unless I am indeed working on something without wanting to sit up (again, small space), or watching a good movie when it’s raining outside and I’d rather not be setting up a campfire (which is honestly not a huge component of my vanlifing anyway).

PPS: How often do you camp? Once a year? Once a month? Vanlife is a way of life I commit to for months at a time. I bet it positions me to engage nature a ton more than you, and I know I engage it more than the office-dwellers (of which I once was but utterly despised, so changed my life). I can use a computer for 5 hours a day, and still get in more nature time than the average person. I’m not missing out on anything.🌲

 

[al256]

I know this is mostly a rhetorical question, but why didn’t Tim Cook or any other Apple executive actually wear the device on stage yesterday? They spent 40 minutes talking about it but no one ever put one on.

I think it would be kind of boring to watch someone use it. Even if you could see what they see. I wonder how many other VR devices demo'd this with someone wearing it.

 

[emulator]

I love making fools out of people years later. Too many narcissists and know-it-alls in the world and the internet exposes their behaviors. I screenshot lots of tweets.
In regards to this product, I'm not taking any sides to it. It's very cool tech but pricey for me. I would love to see the haters in this thread owning the Gen 3 models five years later.

You should leave the basement sometimes. The world looks great outside, gotta enjoy it before everything disappears in a few years.

Gen3 in 5 years? I'd be really surprised if the cycle on these is less than 3 years.

 

[Delarock]

do anyone know whats the refresh rate of those microoled displays ?

 

[Analog Kid]

I know this is mostly a rhetorical question, but why didn’t Tim Cook or any other Apple executive actually wear the device on stage yesterday? They spent 40 minutes talking about it but no one ever put one on.

Because nothing is live anymore, so there's no need. The handed it to real people who have published real feedback, so the device exists. Nothing nefarious as far as I can tell, just pragmatic.

You'll notice most of the product discussions and announcements were people standing in front of other demos.

 

[Rogifan]

In those use cases someone would be at home so frankly why are you concerned about how you look to complete strangers?

I guess if you’re at home, alone.

 

[gatorvet96]

Magic Leap is an enterprise focused company. There are use cases there (although, they're fringe at this point and mostly around workforce instruction or field service). The price is somewhat justified there. This thing is crazy for the consumer market when it really doesn't solve a problem. It's a cool thing to have...

This is NOT for consumer market yet. It is for developers and early adopters.

 

[Avatar74]

I know this is mostly a rhetorical question, but why didn’t Tim Cook or any other Apple executive actually wear the device on stage yesterday? They spent 40 minutes talking about it but no one ever put one on.

With other products, what you see is what you get... if I show you a screen share of an iPhone, you are seeing exactly what I'm seeing. But with a stereoscopic headset you are not going to see what the wearer sees. It doesn't make a lot of sense to show them wearing it (they show others wearing it), EDIT: and then not demo what they are seeing (which is usually what those other live demos consisted of).

And we're probably a year out from its actual availability. Lastly, the keynote is no longer live... so there's no "audience effect" to stoke by Tim wearing it in the weirdly sterilized video. I think that would just seem... weird.

 

[Rogifan]

Nah, we'll see you long before that.

Um, no, you won’t. And you might not even see me then depending on how expensive it is.

 

[anselpela]

What do you mean with "limited interaction ability"? If you view the screen of a Mac in Vision Pro you can do the exact same things. You could even hook up regular keyboard and mouse. The developers need to port the apps though for visionOS. And performance may be limited by the M2 chip. And visionOS is a bit of mystery right now. I could see issues, but I could also see them being solved within the same basic platform.

That's just not correct. Not at all. You can mirror the Mac display as a single 4K display. You can also open other vision apps at the same time. That's it. You cannot open Mac apps in vision. That makes all the practical difference in the world. That's the difference between this being an essential developer accessory that erases the need for desktop monitors, and being virtually useless for real work

 

[Rogifan]

With other products, what you see is what you get... if I show you a screen share of an iPhone, you are seeing exactly what I'm seeing. But with a stereoscopic headset you are not going to see what the wearer sees. It doesn't make a lot of sense to show them wearing it (they show others wearing it).

And we're probably a year out from its actual availability. Lastly, the keynote is no longer live... so there's no "audience effect" to stoke by Tim wearing it in the weirdly sterilized video. I think that would just seem... weird.

It’s not about seeing what they see, it’s about them wearing it and in effect saying ‘I don’t feel like a dork wearing this and neither should you’. The fact they didn’t means they know they’d look like dorks and memes would be all over the internet.

 

[ninethirty]

Blah, blah, blah, it’s 🍎, it’s new, and it’s expensive, so we must all love it, right?

Wrong.

First, this isn’t really AR or VR. It’s an iPad Mini Pro stuck to your face. You look instead of tap to interact with apps, and that’s about it.

Second, this is a surprisingly “beta” product for Apple. Their strength has typically been waiting for everyone else to trip over themselves with half-baked products, then coming in with something better. It’s how the iPod emerged in the MP3 player market (MS Zune, anyone?), the iPhone in the smartphone market (Nokia N95, anyone?), the aWatch in the smart watch market (Pebble, anyone?). Instead, this feels rushed, like Tim Cook was hurrying to get this out ahead of… something. No wonder we heard rumors about dissention in the Apple product development ranks.

Third, this is a very un-Apple like product. Too obtuse (looks like a skier wearing an iPod), too creepy (projected image of your eyes? A hologram of you for FaceTime?) too power hungry, and I’m going to guess too buggy. This is IMO the 2nd time Apple released something un-Apple-like on Tim Cook’s watch; the AirPods Max is the first. APM is also too big, too heavy, and kind of ugly - I hate Bose with a passion, but their 700 headphones look way more like Apple products.

Tim Cook is either retiring or dying, and he wanted one last “Apple can‘t innovate MY ASS” product before he goes.

That was... some take.

Even if your details were correct, and they're not (the Zune came long after the iPod), the situation you've described is exactly what's going on here also. There's plenty of half-baked AR/VR solutions and have been out for a while. By the looks of things (and by the statements made by those who got to demo this yesterday), this thing is in a league of its own when compared to those other products.

I can absolutely understand people not being interested in Vision Pro, but what I can't understand is why they are full of a fiery hate that they can't spew out fast enough.

 

[assquatch]

But it's still looking for a problem to solve...cool tech, niche product.

I feel like it solves a couple problems really well.

1) Air travel. Where everyone is swaddled in noise cancelling headphones and ridiculous neck pillows, the primary objective is to dissociate from the offensive environment around you. Seastback entertainment systems are flaky, and craning your neck at a phone screen is awful. This is a luxury that I could see frequent flyers splurging on.

2) Work. If this can replace a large external display, then maybe I don't need a big, dedicated desk, and maybe not a home office that adds a lot of expense to the living situation-- I could just use any table/counter and have a consistent setup. When I think about this replacing several hundred pounds of desk, monitors, and cables that take up most of a room, suddenly $3,500 seems like a bargain.

It sounds great in the open-office too, when you need to focus while nearly touching elbows with others, and you have no screen privacy.

It could be a game changer for travelers/nomads who can now have a consistent work environment from anywhere, like a hotel or even outside by the beach, which we know doesn't actually work today due to glare. I might consider spending more time working from remote locations with something like this.

 

[aidler]

„By far the best AR/VR headset“
I have no objection with this statement. That was to be expected.
However, the technology is still not good enough and too expensive for the mass market.

 

[13astion]

To repeat, it’s neither AR nor VR. It’s a wearable iPad Pro.

I think you mistook my exception and to what I was commenting on: that Apple’s product is a “headset”… no, it’s a computer.

It’s still not an “iPad”, either, because the tablet form-factor has much more limited display space and has very limited (simultaneous) multitasking.

Just because the latest iPad Pros also have M2 SOCs does not mean the Vision and iPad are “the same” 🙄

 

[anselpela]

This is NOT for consumer market yet. It is for developers and early adopters.

How is a product that runs baby iPad apps for developers? Please tell me. It was fine to use this tagline in the previous weeks. Now that we've seen the product, it doesn't work anymore.

 

[Natrium]

TouchBar 2.0 - this thing will be quietly ditched in a few years.

 

[Rogifan]

I think it would be kind of boring to watch someone use it. Even if you could see what they see. I wonder how many other VR devices demo'd this with someone wearing it.

I should be clear, I’m not saying to demo it but to show what it looks like when you have it on. This is the most personal, wearable product Apple has introduced. It matters what it looks like on your face. Unless Apple is expecting people will only wear it in their house when they’re alone?

 

[anselpela]

Wonder what would Steve Jobs think about Apple Vision Pro.

He would think the exact same thing that most people inside Apple are thinking. It's fantastic software experience on a piece of hardware that is not ready to be used by anyone.

 

[MNGR]

If you can't afford it just say that, no need to be constantly complaining.

I would love to see Avatar. If only it could play all the 3-D movies I have. 😀

 

[Surf Monkey]

for now, that is SF
100 years ago, WI Fi was considered SF
This is a big step in this industry and Apple went all in...this will improve from now on
AR glasses i think is for the consumers...since this is meant just for in doors use and not an overall product

Note: science fiction generally isn’t about predicting the future. Science fiction generally deals with the now through the lens of speculation.

For example: Ready Player One. It’s not a glorious depiction of a fantastic future with cool tech we all love. It’s a vision of a dystopian nightmare. A cautionary tale about what NOT to do.