I tried the Apple Vision Pro

And I have thoughts...

Apple Enters the Metaverse Chat

Earlier this month, Apple dropped their new VR headset, the Apple Vision Pro, retailing for a whopping $3,499, and promising to usher in a new era of “Spatial Computing.” After seeing the viral videos of young white guys driving Teslas in the Vision Pro, or flicking the air on the subway while wearing the goggles, I wanted to try the device for myself.

Plus, as someone interested in imaginary worlds, and as an owner of the Meta Quest 2 (Facebook/Meta’s cheapest VR headset, formerly known as Oculus Rift), currently retailing at $299, I wanted to compare the devices offered by these behemoth tech competitors, at such radically different price points, to see who I think is winning the metaverse eyeball race.

So, full of curiosity, but not wanting to shell out thousands of dollars, I booked myself a Vision Pro demo at the nearest Apple Store.¹

The Vision Pro world awaits me in a less-crowded than usual Apple store.

Big Takeaways

Pros:

• Most impressive feature: the spatial photos and spatial video recording capability of the Apple Vision Pro. This was the only feature that felt like a new experience.

• 2nd most impressive feature: the 3D movie theater experience; however, it’s limited to purchased Apple TV movies with pre-existing 3D versions or Disney Plus content.

• 3rd most impressive feature: moving screens and digital objects not just on the X and Y axis, but also on the Z axis.

Cons:

• The Vision Pro eye tracking is freaky.

• The lack of 360-degree content in the demo was shocking to me.

• Less than 10 minutes into the demo, my eyes and head began to hurt. This is not the case for the Meta Quest 2.

Conclusions:

• Apple’s primary goal is to replace TVs and computer monitors with a more expensive device from Apple, not to create an immersive, new type of experience (Meta’s goal).

• I would not currently purchase the Apple Vision Pro.

• Meta’s VR headsets are a better value for the average consumer, imo.

• I believe Apple released the Vision Pro at such an expensive price point to test it, to work out the kinks, to build hype, and to make future iterations seem like more attractive deals when they finally lower the price.

Now, for those of you who want to go deeper, my full experience is below, including the other functional problems I encountered during the short demo, plus more future predictions regarding the possible potential for the Apple Vision Pro, and the direction Apple may take with the device.