What’s your favorite setup? Close up windows? Far away? Environments? iPad style windows you can touch?

[zakarhino]

Really curious to hear what setups people prefer. In particular I’ve noticed I don‘t like windows being super far away and massive (unless I’m in an environment) because it somewhat kills the illusion of windows actually being in my real space. Far away windows (even in environments) really kill the 3D ’pop’ for me too. I find myself putting windows maybe 4 to 5 feet in front of me and ensuring they don’t go too far outside the bounds of my FOV. If I’m in an environment I don’t mind windows being max distance (10 ft? Idk what Apple limit it to) and max size because they ’fit’ so to speak.

More often than not during the daytime I prefer zero environment (just pass through) and at night I like a dark environment. When using pass through I hardly let apps collide or go outside the bounds of the real world. e.g if there’s a table in front of me I don’t put windows ‘inside’ the table, I want them above it. Essentially I never want the illusion of ‘this is actually here in front of me’ to be broken.

Also I really like having windows up close at iPad distance and scaled to maybe 24 inches or so. Then my interaction mode becomes a hybrid between ’touching’ the content like an iPad (for scrolling and flicking through photos this is really pleasant) and standard visionOS tap/look gestures. This mode is basically my dream iPad. Weightless yet massive and you don’t have to move your arm around if you don’t want to because you can still tap/look. Oh and you can use it in bed too without having to prop up a heavy iPad (by far the most irritating part of iPad for media consumption)

So yeah, I like switching it up depending on my mood and visionOS makes it really easy to transition between states. Apple nailed this part. But my preferred setup is definitely pass through in a big bright room with windows mid distance away and positioned/scaled such that they could fit in the room if they were real physical objects.

What’s your favorite way to use visionOS? Do you prefer environments all the time? Do you like having the environments in full surround mode or only part of the room?

 

[jclardy]

In my first office use last week, I ended up putting my mac monitor in the same place as my physical display, but bigger and slightly further away (So it does create a convergence conflict if I look at the edges, since it is further away than the screen right in front of me.) Other windows go at an angle to the right or the left. Then I usually use a 25% environment, so I can still see my coffee cup, phone, keyboard, mouse on the desk, and out the window to my left, but it fixes the issue of the monitor not having enough "space" to be located where it is in the room.

The "reality dial" is really one of the most clever innovations in the AVP IMO. It gives a super easy solve to this issue of your desk already having stuff on top of it, yet not completely blocking you out of your surroundings. It is one of those things that is super obvious/useful once you see it, but nobody has done it before now.

 

[jasmin58]

My ideal setup would be a cozy corner with ample natural light, a mix of close-up and distant views to foster creativity and focus. A touch-enabled iPad-style interface would add versatility, allowing for an intuitive and interactive workflow. The key is balance – a harmonious blend of comfort, technology, and inspiration.

 

[OriginalAppleGuy]

I've experimented a bit, still finding my way. One cool thing I've done is stand in the middle of my room and put the windows around me. Could easily walk up to an app, interact, move on to another. I'd have a keyboard on a TV tray to use if need be. Aside from that, depends on what I'm doing. When I want something big, I'll push the window away. Otherwise, tend to be in front, above, and around a 180 degree field, about 4-6' away.

I have used the reality dial to block of things that distract me. For instance, was with the family in a den while they were watching a show. I wanted to finish watching a movie, so used the dial to block off the TV and a person who was somewhat in the way to my left.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

I don’t know enough about optics and I keep playing with this to get a better intuition. It seems it’s about some kind of focus….

But a window that is 1” from my face and say 1” wide takes up the same field of view as a 10’ wide screen 10’ away. It shows the same amount of detail but up close it is sharper and I can se the pixels better. Both screens are locked but I guess based on your perspective, when close up a lot more of the world moves around the screen when it’s closer than when it’s further away.

I think when things are further away you may need to move your eyes less to target things but tracking can get more error prone when the widgets get smaller, but if you blow up the UI proportionally that should still be the same.

Both allow for windows to stack either in front or behind it.

Depending on if you are near or far sighted, perhaps it can make a difference in clarity or I wonder if it can be helped to “train” your vision to get stronger or weaker at one extreme or another. Near/far.

TLDR I keep playing with windows further and back trying to figure out which way is “better“ And I’m not sure which I should be shooting for.

 

[Timo_Existencia]

I mostly work in environments since "getting away" is part of my process of getting into a flow state.

I generally work with large windows about 10-15 feet away. Usually my Mac Screen is central since I'm writing on that. Support documents that I need for my writing are placed to each side.

If I'm playing music or background noises, I'll keep that app small and positioned to my hard right, such that I have to physically turn to see it.

 

[subjonas]

I mostly work in environments since "getting away" is part of my process of getting into a flow state.

This is a significant reason for my interest in the VP. In my limited use of VR in the past, I noticed I was very hyper focused for long periods on whatever task I was doing, which is not usually the case for me. In real life I get distracted very easily. Unfortunately, the VR headset I was using couldn’t be used for my main work. Not sure the VP can either but it’s certainly much closer, but that’s another story. Point being, virtual environments and ”getting away” is potentially a very valuable feature. Another example comes to mind—I’ve often heard of creatives going on retreats or even just checking into local hotels to get away to focus on work. Retreating to special real places can’t be replaced, but it’s also not practical or possible to do very often/daily. So for some, virtual environments could be extremely useful for productivity.

 

[Timo_Existencia]

This is a significant reason for my interest in the VP. In my limited use of VR in the past, I noticed I was very hyper focused for long periods on whatever task I was doing, which is not usually the case for me. In real life I get distracted very easily. Unfortunately, the VR headset I was using couldn’t be used for my main work. Not sure the VP can either but it’s certainly much closer, but that’s another story. Point being, virtual environments and ”getting away” is potentially a very valuable feature. Another example comes to mind—I’ve often heard of creatives going on retreats or even just checking into local hotels to get away to focus on work. Retreating to special real places can’t be replaced, but it’s also not practical or possible to do very often/daily. So for some, virtual environments could be extremely useful for productivity.

yeah...I used to have a cabin in a remote mountain here in Guatemala that was specifically for writing. But I became too distracted by missing my family. So, I got rid of the cabin and have been trying to write here in the house. But with dogs and kids and a wife and everything else in my house, I spent a year really struggling to write.

The AVP has turned all of that around. I go into my office, sit in my favorite chair, put on the AVP, select an environment, select some background noise to play over my Airpods, and I away I go. After a scheduled day, I take off the AVP and join my family again.

Cracks me up when people say "isolation" is a negative of the AVP. It's my primary purpose in using it.