AVP User Recommendation: AVP+M1 Max MBP vs M4 Max MBP

[heretiq]

You could do like I did, buy a used one on eBay with AppleCare, took the sting out of the price and it’s really an awesome addition to my Apple devices I have. Now watching a show on my TV or iPad is boring @ghost gave a great example of what it’s like to use one.

That’s a great suggestion. I’ll check out the selections.

 

[Ghost31]

Thanks again @Ghost31. The screenshots and this video are very helpful. Thanks for adding them! I know that scrernshots and videos may not exactly convey the experience. Is the actual experience comparable / worse / better than what’s presented in these?

You can be pretty productive on AVP

 

[heretiq]

You can be pretty productive on AVP

View attachment 2481011

Wow. That is a lot of screen real-estate — way more than I imagined and the text looks very crisp. Goodness, that is actually mind blowing for my use cases. I’m still trying to process the wow and my mind is literally reeling at the implications for (my) productivity. Thanks for sharing this thoughtful example @Ghost31. This is very relevant (Xcode, GitHub, web pages are core to my day to day activities), informative and impactful. I’m looking forward to that Apple Store demo! 🙏🏽

 

[heretiq]

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts, opinions and recommendations. @Ghost31, your video of the Mac Virtual Display was particularly helpful for my primary use case.

I arrived home at 12:10am this morning, had a walk-in Apple Vision Pro demo at 1:00pm — which level-set my expectations for the device and allowed me to experience the reality of having a 626 gram device strapped to my face. I was impressed and walked out of the Apple Store with a 512GB Apple Vision Pro with AppleCare!

The adventure begins! Any recommendations for this AVP newbie is appreciated.

 

[axantas]

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts, opinions and recommendations. @Ghost31, your video of the Mac Virtual Display was particularly helpful for my primary use case.

I arrived home at 12:10am this morning, had a walk-in Apple Vision Pro demo at 1:00pm — which level-set my expectations for the device and allowed me to experience the reality of having a 626 gram device strapped to my face. I was impressed and walked out of the Apple Store with a 512GB Apple Vision Pro with AppleCare!

View attachment 2486292

The adventure begins! Any recommendations for this AVP newbie is appreciated.

Fasten your seat belts very tight...

I am running a macMini M4 for the music stuff (no, I am no professional) with LogicPro now. "Extensive real estate" cannot describe, what I do get on my new monitors now. And this is just the screen mirroring from the Mac. More screens from the VisionPro itself are there. No switching or stacking windows. Just turning my head and there it is.

Feels like Sience-Fiction, but it is not a movie...

 

[heretiq]

Fasten your seat belts very tight...

I am running a macMini M4 for the music stuff (no, I am no professional) with LogicPro now. "Extensive real estate" cannot describe, what I do get on my new monitors now. And this is just the screen mirroring from the Mac. More screens from the VisionPro itself are there. No switching or stacking windows. Just turning my head and there it is.

Feels like Sience-Fiction, but it is not a movie...

Thanks @axantas . I’m awaiting delivery of my ZEISS inserts. As such, I have only kicked the tires on Mac virtual display but found the displayed text blurry without the inserts — so for now my primary use is watching movies. I suspect there’s a lot I can do to improve text clarity even without the inserts; but don’t know where to start.

Any guidance/tricks for leveraging the new monitors / Mac virtual display for text-heavy workflows (mostly Xcode for development plus Safari, NotePlan Markdown docs, Pages/Word and Numbers/Excel)?

 

[heretiq]

UPDATE: I just purchased the following accessories:

1. Apple Compact Magic Keyboard w/TouchID
2. FIRBNO VR Charging Station (https://a.co/d/45wB95W)
3. Apple Vision Pro Travel Case
4. FENRUIEN Gaming Laptop Backpack (https://a.co/d/3EkCG3j)

My goal is to go minimal and replace (1) my full width Magic Keyboard with the compact MKBD plus my existing Magic Trackpad (since the wide keyboard feels uncentered I can’t recall the last time I used the numeric keypad); and (2) my 32” Dell 4K display with the AVP.

I realize #2 might be a stretch, but I’m going all in on AVP the way I have with iOS, iPadOS, macOS and the Apple ecosystem in general. This full embrace of the Apple Way has not failed me yet and I’m curious to experience the AVP addition and UX contribution.

I also want to be able to carry the AVP with my MBPro and iPad Pro when I travel and the FENRUIEN Gaming Laptop Backpack seems to be the most compact option that can fit and protect all three devices (with AVP in Travel Case) plus accessories with a little breathing room.

Charging Station:

Backpack:

Standing Desk:

 

[heretiq]

UPDATE 3: Zeiss inserts arrived today.

Wow. Mac Virtual Display is amazing — as clear as a physical display but way bigger and more room to be productive. This is definitely better than my 16” MB Pro and 32” Dell 4K combo.

I can absolutely see going 100% AVP vs continuing to use physical displays.

 

[Ctrlos]

UPDATE 3: Zeiss inserts arrived today.

Wow. Mac Virtual Display is amazing — as clear as a physical display but way bigger and more room to be productive. This is definitely better than my 16” MB Pro and 32” Dell 4K combo.

I can absolutely see going 100% AVP vs continuing to use physical displays.

Until I saw how far along you were I was going to ask how important portability is? As in, would it be worth buying an M4 Max Mac Mini to go along with the AVP? Looks like you have an older model on that standing desk. Would be a good compromise over the M4 MBP.

 

[heretiq]

Until I saw how far along you were I was going to ask how important portability is? As in, would it be worth buying an M4 Max Mac Mini to go along with the AVP? Looks like you have an older model on that standing desk. Would be a good compromise over the M4 MBP.

Yes, my current Mac is a 16”, 10 core CPU / 32 core GPU M1 Max MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD. It is a beast and provides me with the horsepower I need currently.

An M4 Pro Mac mini is very appealing and something I initially considered. I decided to keep the M1 Max MBP and pair it with the Vision Pro for two reasons:

1. The M4 mini beats the M1 Max in CPU performance but lags in GPU performance which I rely on for Discrete Event Simulation work (via Windows / Parallels).

2. The AVP does not support Parallels or Xcode — so when traveling (which I do frequently) I would have to haul the M4 mini and be limited to using it when I have access to AC power.

But everytime I see the M4 mini I am tempted to get one for the desktop because it is so compelling!

 

[cpurdy]

Get a high density foam standing pad for that desk if you're going to be standing all day. Also, I really like the FluidStance balance boards.

 

[heretiq]

Get a high density foam standing pad for that desk if you're going to be standing all day. Also, I really like the FluidStance balance boards.

@cpurdy Thanks for the suggestions! Both are appreciated — especially the balance board idea and FluidStance recommendation.