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My eyes work harder than they have ever done thanks to the Apple Vision Pro. Not only because I have ultra-sharp, brilliantly bright micro-OLED panels directly on my face: The Vision Pro uses eye tracking for navigating its revolutionary "spatial computing" operating system. Your eyes have to gaze straight at them whenever you wish to start an app, browse a link, do almost anything that would usually call for a mouse or a touchscreen input.
It is almost psychic, mystical. The easy hand motions used to engage with whatever your eyes are focused on help you to feel as though you are discovering the power of the Force thanks to the Vision Pro's eye tracking. But when you run across problems, like trying to touch a little button on YouTube's visually crowded page, the Vision Pro may rapidly become draining if you rely too much on your sight. There is genuine eye strain here.
That sums up the Vision Pro experience really nicely. Wonder and frustration. Even if the hardware of today is among the greatest we have ever seen, a glimpse into the future constrained by it.
Before you inquire, no, you most likely shouldn't even give the Apple Vision Pro any thought. It's just designed for engineers, affluent Apple aficionados who wouldn't hesitate to pounce on a $3,500 curiosity, and, naturally, clout-chasing influencers. You shouldn't discount it totally, though either. Apple's spatial computing adventure is only getting started. Like the iPod and iPhone before it, the Vision Pro has the power to drastically change our daily technology use.
Assuming Apple produces a smaller and less expensive helmet, that future is probably years away. It's interesting, though, to watch the business start a whole different computing path without knowing precisely where it's heading.
Pro Vision Apple
With the greatest screens and AR integration we have seen, the Vision Pro is an aspirational first step into the realm of spatial computing. It is, nonetheless, also obviously a beta tool meant for developers.
The Apple Vision Pro is what?
Apple won't use the words virtual reality, or even the letters V and R in that sequence, but the Vision Pro is a virtual reality headset. Apart from practically every other VR headgear we have seen over the past decade (save from the Meta Quest Pro and Quest 3), the Vision Pro offers a video feed of the actual world to its micro-OLED panels. Though colors are subdued, dark surroundings seem blurry and things distort as you walk about, this is a considerably reduced perspective of reality. Still, this is the greatest attempt at augmented reality (AR) from a VR headset.
Unlike Microsoft's HoloLens and Magic Leap's headsets, both of which show digital overlays above transparent glasses, the Vision Pro is not a strictly AR device. Since they don't have to replicate the real environment via cameras, those gadgets provide significantly more realistic AR experiences. They can never, however, replicate the immersive experience you get with a VR helmet, in which digital worlds completely dominates your field of vision. (One effort to remedy that is seen in the fading displays of The Magic Leap 2.)
In a perfect world, Apple wouldn't have to labor to capture reality with cameras and project it onto a headset display. Though VR devotees refer to this as "passthrough," it's only a brute force approach for simulating augmented reality. Making the world digital is significantly simpler than handling complicated new display technologies to virtual object painting of the real world.
The Vision Pro looks significantly more attractive than any VR helmet I have seen, in standard Apple flair. That largely boils down to resources. Apple's gadget is created out of sleek glass, polished metal, and designer textiles whereas the competition is practically exclusively composed of plastic covers. Bulbous glass shields up front the cameras, sensors, and "Eyesight" display—which highlights virtual reconstructions of your eyes. A plush cloth eye cushion results from a curving metal body that mimics Apple Watch and past iPhone designs.
The Vision Pro arrives with a flexible single band headstrapper that resembles a long-lost Lululemon accessory and an optional second loop band to provide further protection. Over longer sessions attempting to keep the 1.3-pound headset on my face, even if I appreciated how luxurious the single loop band felt (particularly the extra padding behind my skull), it became unpleasant. I stayed with the twin loop band, which Apple's press pictures notably lack, to distribute that weight more fairly.
Then there's the external battery, which virtually destroys Apple's ultra-polished look nearly on its own. Attaching to the Vision Pro by a five-foot connection, it seems to be a standard USB battery pack—albeit with a better metal finish than most. Its entire presence seems to be everything Apple opposes, even the Meta Quest series features a well integrated battery. Although I hated having to wrangle a cord around, I would admit it wasn't too bothersome while seated. But from a $3,500 gadget, this isn't the kind of compromise I would have expected.
Hardware Of The Vision Pro
Given the volume of technology crammed inside the Vision Pro, though, it might be reasonable why Apple didn't want to pack in a hefty battery. The headgear has a sixteen-core neural engine for artificial intelligence processing, an eight-core CPU, and a ten-core GPU. Along with Apple's R1 CPU to run all the cameras and sensors required to create a feed of the actual world, there is 16GB of RAM onboard. These comprise a LiDAR scanner, True Depth 3D camera, six world tracking cameras, two high-resolution primary cameras, four internal eye-tracking cameras, flutter sensor, ambient light sensor, and four inertial measurement units tracking head and body motion in 3D space. Then.
Most controversally, the Vision Pro arrives with just 256GB of storage. Given Apple's promotion of the $3,500 tablet as a complete computer, which implies you will be installing plenty of applications and games, it is shockingly inexpensive for such device. Although most of the time you will probably be streaming video to it, such a little quantity of storage leaves little space for offline material (there is no SD card expansion either, characteristic of a mobile Apple device). Should you be purchasing the Vision Pro, we would advise the $3,699 512GB model for a little extra breathing room, or you could top it off with 1TB of storage for $3,899.
Apple could have gone conservative with the Vision Pro's battery and storage to create place for its display, which is among the most magnificent panels I have ever seen. Sporting 23 million pixels, or over three times the resolution of a single 4K screen, this Micro-OLED panel is a very new technology that I have only seen on one other shipping item: the BigScreen Beyond.
The Vision Pro's screen is a revelation after trying practically every major VR headset since the Oculus Rift DK2 prototype and testing a wide range of ever-larger gaming displays. It packs enough pixels to scale 4K movies to theater-sized screens and is amazingly sharp and clear, making text simple to read—which wasn't always feasible on early VR headsets. The Vision Pro can play movies in multiples for 24fps and 30fps for judder-free playing and supports refresh rates up to 100Hz, which makes surfing webpages feel silky smooth. (That is the minor stuttering TVs exhibit during camera pans and action sequences.)
Additionally supported by the Vision Pro are more complex black levels and HDR, which generates brighter highlights in images and movies. Dark scenes seem more eerie as the Micro-OLED display may reach total black unlike those of headsets with LCD displays. I spent some time simply looking off into the darkness of space, with just the stony lunar surface and the far-off Sun keeping company, when I first activated Apple's immersive environment on the Moon.
Though in reality I simply started playing "OK Computer" for the millionth time and wallowed in nostalgic anguish and my worries of where technology is leading us, I would want to claim I flicked on some classical music as I considered the meaning of life. For better or worse, the Vision Pro is the perfect tool for leaving the problems of the earth. After a few minutes, I realized I was essentially reenacting the notorious Watchmen scenario with Doctor Manhattan seated alone on the barren plains of Mars, ready to leave mankind behind. Maybe I could use a vacation.)
For regular computing, YouTube binge sessions, and unforeseen nostalgia, the built-in spatial audio speakers of the headset are sufficient. With enough depth and nuance to express Thom Yorke's melancholy, they are significantly better than usual laptop speakers. If you want to enjoy pounding bass for music and movies, you will have to stay with headphones as low-end is not very strong. (At the time, the Vision Pro supports Apple's AirPods and wireless Beats headphones; I haven't had experience connecting it to any other wireless can, including Sony's great MDR-1000XM5.) Anyone close will also receive an earful of anything you're hearing as the spatial audio speakers are open.
True to its name, audio accompanies programs around your virtual environment; listening to music on the Vision Pro feels like having an actual speaker in your room. Apple received a patent for audio ray tracing, and it is evident within a few minutes that the business has given much consideration on how sound behaves across VisionOS. (We really have come a long way from poorly compressed iTunes music and tinny white earphones.) To record your voice while yelling at Siri, the Vision Pro also has a six-mic array that controls text and hopping on video conversations. You may also read this: Maximizing Your Experience with Microsoft's Xbox
Getting The Vision Pro Set Up
Starting with the Apple Vision Pro was not too dissimilar from my practical experience last year. Once pre-orders were available, I quickly checked my face on the Apple Store app—which calculates the size of your light seal cushion and headband—then chose the 512GB storage option. That's really it for decisions; unless you're buying extras like the $200 travel case.
I also had to enter in my eye prescription to adjust the $149 Zeiss lenses (which magneticly attach onto the helmet as the Vision Pro does not accept glasses). It turns out that my prescription expired, which caused a frantic search for a rapid eye checkup. Fortunately, uploading a new prescription via the Apple Store app was simple; you're not compelled to go to another merchant for bespoke lenses like the Quest 3.
When my Vision Pro showed up on launch day, I opened the package and was shocked to discover it crammed with extras. Apart from the headset, battery and Solo Knit Band, you also get a soft cover, another Light Seal Cushion (which could be thinner or thicker than the one fitted to your helmet), and a Dual-Loop band for extra security. Along with a cleaning cloth—which most definitely came in handy—there is a 1.5-meter USB-C cord and a charger.
When I initially put on the Vision Pro, my wife stared at me with a look between confusion and contempt. Over the previous ten years, she has been compelled to live through my VR exploits; but, this was obviously not another plastic headgear designed for a gaming cave. Though it's still definitely goofy once you put it on, like an over-engineered effort at Robocop costume, the Vision Pro looks sleek and elegant.
By now Apple's onboarding experiences have reduced to a science. Once the Vision Pro was on, I looked ahead to generate a six-digit security pin, an Optic ID, biometric verification based on your iris, I next had to design a Persona, a spooky computer reconstruction of my face that powers the digital eyeballs on the front FaceTime screen that displayed during FaceTime chats. Taking off the helmet, following its directions to stare in every direction, and then forcing a closed mouth smile—an open-mouthed smile—a view of your eyes closed—building your Persona.