I'm skeptical about the Vision Pro. I’ve said on Basic AF and social media that it’s something I wanted to try out of curiosity, but I had no intentions of owning one. The week of the Super Bowl, I bought one from an Apple Store to test.
Over the last several weeks, I've spent 1-2 hours per day using Vision Pro, and here are some initial impressions.
Hardware
As many have stated, it is heavy for something that will live on your face. Proper headband sizing helps. The Apple Store app scans your face and head when you order, and it paired me up with small bands, which I was skeptical of. Before my return period expired, I went to an Apple Store to ensure I had the best fit. I left with the medium bands, which fit much better, and it was an easy exchange process. If you have any second thoughts on your fitting, I recommend stopping by a store to confirm you have the best headbands and light shields.
visionOS
visionOS is beautiful and familiar if you've used an iPad. Eye tracking and hand gestures are intuitive, and it didn't take long for me to feel comfortable navigating and using the system. Hand gestures suffer a bit in low-light situations, but as long as it's not entirely dark in the room, I've been able to make them work.
This is definitely a Gen 1 product with a 1.0 operating system. At times, it outright feels like a beta product with plenty of software issues. It needs an app switcher and better window management as things can get messy with more than a few apps open. Not unexpected, and I’m sure things will improve quickly through updates.
I highly recommend using a keyboard and trackpad if you want to do actual work on the device. I used my Logitech MX Keys with no issues, but now I’m using Apple's Magic Keyboard and Trackpad, which work great. I added the TwelveSouth MagicBridge last week, which is a great tray that the keyboard and trackpad snap into. This works well to stabilize the two together when I use the Vision Pro on my couch or propped up in bed.
Photos, TV, Movies
Watching TV and movies has been excellent! Seeing the Super Bowl on a screen the size of my living room wall was impressive! The AppleTV app offers some really nice immersive viewing options, including theater mode, which allows you to choose your viewing location in the room, and adjusts the screen based on where you choose to sit.
My Photos library looks incredible! Seeing these memories in such a large format has been more emotional than expected, particularly ones of our kids and family members. The nearly immersive view of panoramic shots is fabulous.
Mac Virtual Display
MacBook displays, even on my 16" model, always feel cramped. I often want to get away from my desk and work somewhere else, but I don't because I need more screen real estate than the laptop provides. Mac Virtual Display is great for this! I can take my computer to the front porch, the couch, or the bed, connect to it from the Vision Pro, and have a large display to work on. So convenient!
Right now, it's limited to one virtual Mac display, and you can't use the MacBook's built-in display along with the virtual display as it is turned off when the virtual display is activated. Unfortunately, this feature has been one of the buggiest and consistently has connectivity issues, which has been frustrating.
Value vs. Meta Quest
A criticism of the Vision Pro is that the Meta Quest can do almost everything it does for a fraction of the cost. After watching more YouTube videos than I’d like to admit by people who have spent time with both devices, I think that’s partially true, particularly with gaming. But here’s the thing. What makes Vision Pro work for me is the Apple ecosystem, and that’s not available on the Quest. Messages, Safari, Apple Music, my Photos library, Files, the third-party apps I know and love, like Bear Notes, 1Password, and Things. None of that. The ecosystem, so far, is the killer app for me.
More Coming
Even though I’m keeping my unit, I’m still skeptical these headsets will ever move beyond niche status. We’ll be discussing all of this in greater detail on an upcoming episode of Basic AF. Head over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify to follow the show, and you'll get a notification when new episodes hit. Or, check our website for links to more players and directories.
