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Hands-On With the Apple Vision Pro: Unboxing, Initial Thoughts and More
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I tried to reserve a demo of the Visio Pro opening Apple Store app on my phone this morning at 8am EST, and every couple of hours since, and with the first day available from the start being Monday I still have not been able to reserve a time while the available slots have dwindled. I get a "Sorry, something went wrong" or "Sorry, this session topic is currently unavailable", after the final click on the "Reserve it" button. They suggest calling Apple to set up an appointment.
I did prepare an order, but left it un-purchased in my bag as I was not clear if i'd be able to get it with my prescription lenses in the store or if I'd have the unit for a week before they arrived.
Also, although Apple Store.app suggests I do the local store pickup, I don't seem to be able to set my purchase to be picked up.
Not a big deal as I have a big purchase this week for a newly on the US market tinnitus treatment device and that's way more important to me at this time.
I did prepare an order, but left it un-purchased in my bag as I was not clear if i'd be able to get it with my prescription lenses in the store or if I'd have the unit for a week before they arrived.
Also, although Apple Store.app suggests I do the local store pickup, I don't seem to be able to set my purchase to be picked up.
Not a big deal as I have a big purchase this week for a newly on the US market tinnitus treatment device and that's way more important to me at this time.
Joanna Stern showed Final Cut Pro on her Vision Pro from her MBP and said it was great, but she didn't actually show it in use to see what "great" meant, or reporting the frame rates. Using FCP on my Mac Studio is one of the main uses I'd have for Vision Pro and I'll probably have to actually use it to really know if it would work for me.
Took my dog for a walk and came up with two more questions:
1) Can you power the device off a Mac?
2) Can you use the Mac through the Vision Pro if the Mac is in clamshell mode?
1) Can you power the device off a Mac?
2) Can you use the Mac through the Vision Pro if the Mac is in clamshell mode?
Check out that reddit thread. There's apparently some noticeable lag when mirroring a Mac screen into the AVP. So "depends on the game" I would think, but anything that requires quick response is probably out.
I can't even imagine doing serious FCP work in a VR headset - I guess unless you mean authoring content meant for 3D or other virtual space?
For anything meant for a 2D output, I'd personally want a few color calibrated monitors to place my workspaces and preview output on.
Needs a snorkel. Pair it with an Apple Watch Ultra and you're ready for anything.
You never know it could be an AirTag delivery 😂 I would check just in case..
Hard pass for me on getting punched in the face sporting any form of heads up display (at $3500 or far less!).
As with "Idiocracy" so with "Ready Player One." They're not works of fiction, they're documentaries from the future.
@Dan Barbera, great video as always. You make really approachable content.
The question I'm still curious about is how they interact with two in a room. Can two people watch a movie together in sync, or is it really designed for one person at a time?
The question I'm still curious about is how they interact with two in a room. Can two people watch a movie together in sync, or is it really designed for one person at a time?
Thank you for this. But I don’t quite understand why you can’t see the popcorn or glass.
The Vision Pro as a monitor costs less than that Pro Display XDR and does a lot more 🤷♂️. But I'm happy with my 32" LG monitor.
I’ve been using it all afternoon with the single band. Seems perfectly comfortable to me, but I’m also used to helmets for various activities. I’ve only used VR at industry nerd conventions and always been underwhelmed.
The clarity of this is astounding. I’m using the Zeiss inserts which work well (mostly).
The passthrough is phenomenal in well-lit spaces but shows some graininess (but still updates sufficiently fast) in dark, even almost pitch black spaces.
Positioned some of my normal apps — some optimized, some not — all around me. I use Notes a lot. Being able to stand up in front of your notes is amazing, with a zoom call over your other shoulder. Having referential content all around you is incredible, especially when also brainstorming at a big white board or even jotting sketches on an analog notebook. If you like to move around on conference calls or walk when you think, the AVP is great. I love not being tethered to a desk.
It’s super cool when you take a coffee break and see your apps that you’ve left in other rooms (and other floors!). Not sure how useful it is, but still interesting to see the intersection of information and physical spaces. I expect this to evolve to the point of being able to have distinct persistent workspaces.
Built in speakers sound great. The on-screen keyboard works ok for light duty (entering login credentials, eg) when you position it close to you; BT keyboards are great.
Controls are very natural although I find the flick down hard to execute. Looking and tapping becomes second nature in short order and I find it to be nearly flawless. Astoundingly so.
Pain points include lack of support for security keys (had to disable mine in order to log in), password autofill, etc. I fully suspect that Home Screen organization will evolve rapidly but certainly isn’t an impediment now. Oh, optical ID seems to fail on me a lot.
I don’t watch tv and rarely watch movies, so I can’t comment on either of those. But personal photos and panos are incroyable.
I can already see the AVp becoming a potent component in my information tool chest, and I look forward to seeing the software mature. By far and away the most exciting thing to happen in computing since the mouse.
The clarity of this is astounding. I’m using the Zeiss inserts which work well (mostly).
The passthrough is phenomenal in well-lit spaces but shows some graininess (but still updates sufficiently fast) in dark, even almost pitch black spaces.
Positioned some of my normal apps — some optimized, some not — all around me. I use Notes a lot. Being able to stand up in front of your notes is amazing, with a zoom call over your other shoulder. Having referential content all around you is incredible, especially when also brainstorming at a big white board or even jotting sketches on an analog notebook. If you like to move around on conference calls or walk when you think, the AVP is great. I love not being tethered to a desk.
It’s super cool when you take a coffee break and see your apps that you’ve left in other rooms (and other floors!). Not sure how useful it is, but still interesting to see the intersection of information and physical spaces. I expect this to evolve to the point of being able to have distinct persistent workspaces.
Built in speakers sound great. The on-screen keyboard works ok for light duty (entering login credentials, eg) when you position it close to you; BT keyboards are great.
Controls are very natural although I find the flick down hard to execute. Looking and tapping becomes second nature in short order and I find it to be nearly flawless. Astoundingly so.
Pain points include lack of support for security keys (had to disable mine in order to log in), password autofill, etc. I fully suspect that Home Screen organization will evolve rapidly but certainly isn’t an impediment now. Oh, optical ID seems to fail on me a lot.
I don’t watch tv and rarely watch movies, so I can’t comment on either of those. But personal photos and panos are incroyable.
I can already see the AVp becoming a potent component in my information tool chest, and I look forward to seeing the software mature. By far and away the most exciting thing to happen in computing since the mouse.
This thing is a game changer, but I wish it was more like a Mac rather than like a mobile device. Right now the AppStore is seriously lacking in apps, but hopefully that changes soon. It absolutely blows away Quest and the AR is crazy, especially little things like watching a movie on your own private movie screen in the white desert sands. Having a USB-C power connection would have been nice, but of course they had to go proprietary so we couldn't use power banks with more capacity. It's definitely a beta product but it will drive innovation. I will probably sell mine and get the gen 2 when there are more apps and good games. Right now the games mostly suck. They needed to give devs more time to develop apps.
Having the ability to plug in removable USB-C storage via the battery would've been nice, but of course Apple couldn't allow that. Like I said, if this was more like a Desktop it would be 200% better. It will be limited by the Apple ecosystem.
Having the ability to plug in removable USB-C storage via the battery would've been nice, but of course Apple couldn't allow that. Like I said, if this was more like a Desktop it would be 200% better. It will be limited by the Apple ecosystem.
It seems the Vision Pro's passthrough cameras aren't the same quality as those on a high-end smartphone, but if they were, then they might allow people with some types of failing vision to see the world around them significantly better, particularly people whose retinas are losing their light sensitivity, who could benefit from the light amplification you see in newer iPhone models, which can make twilight seem like daylight. So with better cameras, Vision Pro could be used like a large version of Geordi's visor on Star Trek TNG, which would make sense since Vision Pro is supposed to do augmented reality as well as virtual reality.
Just open it, try it out and you know what to do if it’s uncomfortable or something else bothers you. Get some feedback from your spouse, friends on what they think about it. Sometimes other people can see the flaws of a product more clearly than the individual who’s in honeymoon mode with the product. It’s a lot of money and even someone with money to burn (not necessarily saying that about you) may not want to burn their money with this first generation product. Also keep in mind that if you decide to keep your AVP, you’ll become an unofficial member of the AVP development team and your input along with the input from thousands of other “members” will be important for Apple when they determine the future viability of the AVP and if it makes sense to develop the third and fourth generations of this product. I assume the second generation is already committed for a 2025 or 2026 release.
I really really want this to be a success.
But apple have shoot themselves in the foot… it reminds me of airpods max.
I Looove VR and MR and also apple products (not their greed)
So it all combined should be like my favorite food dish.. so far it smells like a bad dish.
So many mistakes it is like they do not listen to its users.
But apple have shoot themselves in the foot… it reminds me of airpods max.
I Looove VR and MR and also apple products (not their greed)
So it all combined should be like my favorite food dish.. so far it smells like a bad dish.
So many mistakes it is like they do not listen to its users.