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So it looks like I may have a US trip coming up, but naturally I do not have a prescription from a US optician.

Can anyone advise on how challenging would it be for a tourist to get a prescription that Apple would accept for a Vision Pro order that included the Zenith optical inserts?

(Here in Thailand even as a tourist you can walk into an opticians and have a free eye test, but I rather suspect it is not that simple in the States!)
In the U.S. you can walk into most optical/eyewear stores and get an exam and prescription.
 
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So it looks like I may have a US trip coming up, but naturally I do not have a prescription from a US optician.

Can anyone advise on how challenging would it be for a tourist to get a prescription that Apple would accept for a Vision Pro order that included the Zenith optical inserts?

(Here in Thailand even as a tourist you can walk into an opticians and have a free eye test, but I rather suspect it is not that simple in the States!)
Depending on where you are going, there are similar walk in style places. I’d recommend seeing if Warby Parker has a location where you are visiting and you can set an appointment, you’d walk out with a prescription you can upload. It’s not free though, I think it’s like $75-100 for the exam, nothing is free here…
 
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I ordered 2 with the same card. One I paid with Apple Pay and one by entering the card info. Apple Pay has been charged today, nothing for the second.
 
Depending on where you are going, there are similar walk in style places. I’d recommend seeing if Warby Parker has a location where you are visiting and you can set an appointment, you’d walk out with a prescription you can upload. It’s not free though, I think it’s like $75-100 for the exam, nothing is free here…

Can confirm my Warby prescription worked for Zeiss inserts. It was about $90 to get the exam.
 
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Maybe they will at least let us use the in-store sets when trying it on. Hopefully we can also change the lens delivery to pick up at the distribution center once shipped.

They will. Apparently they have like 900+ instore demo inserts on site and will measure your glasses to match you with the right ones for demo/fitting. Apple's store pickup email says to bring your glasses to the store if you have inserts that haven't arrived yet.

I'm also going to try to pick up at the UPS hub if at all possible. They're going to refuse to deliver to my address if even an inch of snow falls on Thursday or Friday.
 
Depending on where you are going, there are similar walk in style places. I’d recommend seeing if Warby Parker has a location where you are visiting and you can set an appointment, you’d walk out with a prescription you can upload. It’s not free though, I think it’s like $75-100 for the exam, nothing is free here…
And it shouldn’t be free either.
 
So it looks like I may have a US trip coming up, but naturally I do not have a prescription from a US optician.

Can anyone advise on how challenging would it be for a tourist to get a prescription that Apple would accept for a Vision Pro order that included the Zenith optical inserts?

(Here in Thailand even as a tourist you can walk into an opticians and have a free eye test, but I rather suspect it is not that simple in the States!)
Maybe not same day, but you could easily get an appt at some of the “chain” operations like Target, Walmart, LensCrafters, Warby Parker, etc. Good luck!
 
Maybe not same day, but you could easily get an appt at some of the “chain” operations like Target, Walmart, LensCrafters, Warby Parker, etc. Good luck!
When you get your itinerary set, go online, search and check Optometrist appointments for the dates/times you seek. In the remarks section ‘Full Manifest Refraction’ are the magic words. If they ask for insurance, you are a self pay customer-no insurance and no need for a US Social Security number for them. Print out and bring along the specific format and data that Zeiss wants on the prescription. Show that to the examiner. The instructions are detailed and Zeiss is unyielding. If any required item is missing, Zeiss will reject it. (I learned this the hard way). When I finally showed the page from Zeiss to the optometrist who worked with me, they “got it” and after reworking their prescription printing file to get all the info in, it was all good. Good luck!
 
When you get your itinerary set, go online, search and check Optometrist appointments for the dates/times you seek. In the remarks section ‘Full Manifest Refraction’ are the magic words. If they ask for insurance, you are a self pay customer-no insurance and no need for a US Social Security number for them. Print out and bring along the specific format and data that Zeiss wants on the prescription. Show that to the examiner. The instructions are detailed and Zeiss is unyielding. If any required item is missing, Zeiss will reject it. (I learned this the hard way). When I finally showed the page from Zeiss to the optometrist who worked with me, they “got it” and after reworking their prescription printing file to get all the info in, it was all good. Good luck!
Many thanks - and thanks also to the others who kindly replied.

I've just noticed that it is now possible to order the optical inserts separately. Not sure when that started up, but it might ease the entire process as I can get a VP ordered in advance based on my timings. All depends on availability now. Currently it looks like no in-store pick-up anywhere, but hopefully things might change in the next 6 weeks or so as my travel plans are very flexible.
 
After days of back and forth with Zeiss (who don’t respond to questions), my prescription was approved with delivery shown as “By February 12”. As others have noted here, the “Do you wear eyeglasses “ question is too vague. I have prescription reading glasses (not the Walgreen’s readers) but that is not what Zeiss wants/needs. Just about ready to bag it, I found and printed off the paragraph on what Zeiss wants in a prescription:Full Manifest Refraction (huh?). Went back to the Optometrist and they could juggle the data into the format Zeiss wanted, my DOB and all the rest. She (the doctor) had to edit the prescription printing file format and then we were good. Zeiss may manufacture high end quality optics (I have one of their spotting scopes) but explaining precisely what they wanted up front for the AVP and general customer service-not so good.
Do I understand correctly that you were able to order *prescription* reading inserts?

I ordered reading prescription inserts. The next day I received a message from Apple, "There seems to be an issue with your prescription." Went to the Zeiss website, where I received the seemingly nonsensical message, "Prescription is for near or reading vision only."

I then called Apple, and after insisting, they connected me to a Zeiss representative. The Zeiss person claimed that they're not making reading prescription inserts for the Vision Pro. Which is completely contradicts Apple's pre-order page and Zeiss' own website, where, after entering my prescription, I was told "ZEISS Optical Inserts are available for you."

I don't know who's screwing up here---Apple, Zeiss, or both---but let me just say that I'm not pleased. 😬
 
Do I understand correctly that you were able to order *prescription* reading inserts?

I ordered reading prescription inserts. The next day I received a message from Apple, "There seems to be an issue with your prescription." Went to the Zeiss website, where I received the seemingly nonsensical message, "Prescription is for near or reading vision only."

I then called Apple, and after insisting, they connected me to a Zeiss representative. The Zeiss person claimed that they're not making reading prescription inserts for the Vision Pro. Which is completely contradicts Apple's pre-order page and Zeiss' own website, where, after entering my prescription, I was told "ZEISS Optical Inserts are available for you."

I don't know who's screwing up here---Apple, Zeiss, or both---but let me just say that I'm not pleased. 😬
Well, considering that Zeiss gave you some obvious misinformation about whether they made reader inserts, I would think that most of this is on Zeiss.

That said, the fact that lots of people including me had weird payment issues for the AVP that turned out to be because the people programming the checkout at Apple's website couldn't make it so store appointment selections got reserved for a few minutes or throw up some meaningful error messages when they slipped away after a few seconds should also not go unmentioned.

The ordering experience on their site and in their app has a few annoying aspects that make the whole thing second class when it shouldn't be. It's like they only consider the "happy path" when testing their ordering experiences.
 
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You can, you just don't tell the headset about whatever you're sticking in there. Not gonna be a great experience though. I'd still go the route of trying to get a middle ground rx that lets you use the headset and isnt outside the boundaries of compatibility.
Yeah my optometrist is on vacation when she returns going to hit her up
 
Just checked my Apple order status and my Zeiss lenses have shipped (well, label created). Coming UPS Worldwide Express Saver from China, arriving Feb 2nd.
 
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In the U.S. you can walk into most optical/eyewear stores and get an exam and prescription.
When you lock in your itinerary -the city you plan to visit-go online and check Optometrist websites for appointment dates/times. Many places let you do this completely online. They will ask if you have insurance (No. ‘Self pay’). In the remarks or messages to the examining person you want a Full Manifest Refraction. Before the appointment print out the page from Zeiss in the AVP ordering link and show that to the examiner. Zeiss is very specific and unyielding in the information they want to see in that prescription : one page only, your date of birth, prescriber’s signature and license number and that Full Manifest Refraction (which includes numbers for distance vision). Not a prescription for reading or using a computer. I showed that page from Zeiss to the optometrist and she and the tech person reworked the
Do I understand correctly that you were able to order *prescription* reading inserts?

I ordered reading prescription inserts. The next day I received a message from Apple, "There seems to be an issue with your prescription." Went to the Zeiss website, where I received the seemingly nonsensical message, "Prescription is for near or reading vision only."

I then called Apple, and after insisting, they connected me to a Zeiss representative. The Zeiss person claimed that they're not making reading prescription inserts for the Vision Pro. Which is completely contradicts Apple's pre-order page and Zeiss' own website, where, after entering my prescription, I was told "ZEISS Optical Inserts are available for you."

I don't know who's screwing up here---Apple, Zeiss, or both---but let me just say that I'm not pleased. 😬
 
I share your frustration/irritation since I went through the same thing. The required prescription is for distance vision, corrected, and not readers. The science is beyond my pay grade but after showing the optometrist what Zeiss wants, Distance PD of +2.0 for each eye was added to the prescription. I believe the focal length for the AVP may be a good arm’s length or more from one’s eyes. The optometrist knew exactly what was needed and Zeiss accepted the prescription. As I noted in an earlier post, the instructions were less than clear to me.
 
You can get either non-prescription reader lenses or prescription lenses. I am pretty sure I read that you need to submit a "comprehensive" prescription. I don't think a prescription for readers qualifies as comprehensive, but a distance only prescription or a prescription with bifocals does.

I still don't understand why readers and/or a comprehensive prescription with bifocals would even work. I thought these devices have a fixed focal distance. It seems to me that any prescription should be for a fixed focal distance.

But obviously there is something going on here that I don't understand.
 
I'm surprised that Apple is showing the inserts as being shipped. I think someone messed up.
Why? The only constraint is delivery on or after Feb 2nd. There's nothing that requires the inserts to be delivered before, with, or after the AVP (although people here would obviously have preferences).
 
Why? The only constraint is delivery on or after Feb 2nd. There's nothing that requires the inserts to be delivered before, with, or after the AVP (although people here would obviously have preferences).
Normally, Apple shows shipped the day before it arrives. Thus the ZEISS situation is out of the ordinary.
 
You can get either non-prescription reader lenses or prescription lenses. I am pretty sure I read that you need to submit a "comprehensive" prescription. I don't think a prescription for readers qualifies as comprehensive, but a distance only prescription or a prescription with bifocals does.

I still don't understand why readers and/or a comprehensive prescription with bifocals would even work. I thought these devices have a fixed focal distance. It seems to me that any prescription should be for a fixed focal distance.

But obviously there is something going on here that I don't understand.

When Apple connected me to a Zeiss representative yesterday, the Zeiss person explicitly stated that they are not supplying prescription reading inserts (but they make prescription distance inserts and non-prescription reading inserts). It has nothing to do with anything specific about my prescription.

However, at least as of this morning when I checked, one could still order prescription reading inserts on the Apple Vision Pro pre-order page. Also, when I enter my reading prescription using the link below, Zeiss tells me "ZEISS Optical Inserts are available for you."

https://www.zeiss.com/vision-care/us/zeiss-optical-inserts.html

Anyways, I originally posted about this not just out of frustration, but because it seemed that another member was actually able to order reading prescription inserts.
 
You can get either non-prescription reader lenses or prescription lenses. I am pretty sure I read that you need to submit a "comprehensive" prescription. I don't think a prescription for readers qualifies as comprehensive, but a distance only prescription or a prescription with bifocals does.

I still don't understand why readers and/or a comprehensive prescription with bifocals would even work. I thought these devices have a fixed focal distance. It seems to me that any prescription should be for a fixed focal distance.

But obviously there is something going on here that I don't understand.

As I understand it, your prescription describes your eyes' shortcomings. How that is then interpreted into creating a specific correction is a completely different matter and will vary by use case. For example, I have one prescription, but three pairs of glasses. One pair of varifocals is designed for reading and desk work, but slightly compromises distance vision; a second pair of varifocals is good for desk work to medium distance; and the final purely corrects myopia (they are the glasses that I wear when going to the cinema, for example).

I could have a single pair that covered all distances, but they would not give me the distance clarity (over a wide field of view) that the "cinema" pair give me - my two varifocal pairs are, for example, useless for watching films in an IMAX theater - and nor would would that single pair of glasses that catered to my full prescription give me the close-up clarity (again, over a wide field of view) that the first varifocal pair does.

Just because your prescription indicates that you need correction for both near and far vision, and would benefit from bifocals or varifocals does not mean that lenses produced for you will cover the entire prescription range. For a VR headset like the Vision pro, I suspect the lenses are optimised to give you the most comfortable possible viewing experience for the design of the headset - a virtual screen focused at 1.5m (or whatever the distance is). Regardless of your prescription, there will be no varifocal aspect to the Zeiss inserts that are produced for you.

I would be very surprised if the Zeiss inserts would provide complete clarity at infinity.
 
I feel like this is missing the ability for eye tracking to ignore one eye and focus on another for input.

One review today implied that it did, talking about a dominant eye.

Surprised that the lenses are made in China. Guess that's how they could make them so inexpensively. Just got a replacement rubber gasket for a German made pressure braiser which costs $50!

Estimated delivery
Friday, February 02 by 7:00 P.M.

01/30/2024
8:45 P.M.
On the Way
Departed from Facility
Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong
01/29/2024
1:50 P.M.
Departed from Facility
Guangzhou, China
01/29/2024
5:36 A.M.
We have your package
Guangzhou, China
Label Created
Shipper created a label, UPS has not received the package yet.
China
 
Last edited:
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One review today implied that it did, talking about a dominant eye.

Surprised that the lenses are made in China. Guess that's how they could make them so inexpensively. Just got a replacement rubber gasket for a German made pressure braiser which costs $50!

Estimated delivery
Friday, February 02 by 7:00 P.M.

01/30/2024
8:45 P.M.
On the Way
Departed from Facility
Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong
01/29/2024
1:50 P.M.
Departed from Facility
Guangzhou, China
01/29/2024
5:36 A.M.
We have your package
Guangzhou, China
Label Created
Shipper created a label, UPS has not received the package yet.
China
$150 for lenses is inexpensive?
 
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