New Year's goods are not closed
The Apple Vision Pro is an incredible piece of technology with an eye- and hand-tracking interface that dwarfs the competition.
The Vision Pro starts at $3,500, but it's the most innovative product Apple has created in more than a decade, and it incorporates the future of computing and entertainment into a very stylish product. Here's how it has been used so far.
Apple Vision Pro is available for pre-order now, with a release date of February 2.
The headset may be able to track your eyes with amazing accuracy, but it also has a jaw-dropping starting price of $3,499. The entry-level model comes with 256GB of storage, and the 512GB storage costs $3,699 and the 1TB storage costs $3,899.
What's in the box?
The Apple Vision Pro comes in a sizable box with a lot of stuff inside, including the headphones themselves, a Light Seal for your face, a Light Seal pad, and a Solo knit strap and a double loop strap.
There's also an Apple Vision Pro battery that's always connected to the headphones, a second, thicker Light Seal pad, a polishing cloth, and a 30W USB-C power adapter.
Design & Comfort.
The Apple Vision Pro is undoubtedly the sleek headphones yet, with a curved glass front panel and modular design that allows it to be customized to the wearer's needs. But definitely not light. After 30 minutes, I felt heavy in my cheeks.
When ordering the Vision Pro, you'll scan your face (similar to how you set up Face ID) to get a personalized Light Seal.
The Vision Pro comes with two straps. There are single loop knit belts and double loop belts. The former is stretchy and makes it easy to put on and take off the Vision Pro, and you can quickly tighten and loosen it using the built-in knob.
The double loop strap provides more stability as there is a strap that runs through the top of your head and back. I found this product to be more suitable for long Vision Pro sessions because it has more support for rather heavy headphones.
Vision Pro weighs 13 to 14 lbs (depending on Light Seal and headband configuration), Meta Quest 3 weighs 11 lb, Meta Quest Pro weighs 16 lbs.
After wearing the Vision Pro on and off for a few hours, I didn't feel uncomfortable wearing it, but I did want to take regular breaks due to the weight. I also had some light red marks on my cheeks.
The Vision Pro has a digital crown on the right side, which brings up the home screen no matter where you are. Turning the crown enhances the immersion of whatever environment you are in, and you can also control the volume. The button on the left side of the headset is the top button, which you can use to capture the space **and**, as well as confirm the purchase.
I really like the modular design of the Vision Pro. The Light Seal and Light Seal pads are magnetically attached to the device, and both strap options can be easily swapped out by pulling the small orange tab. But what I'm trying to say is that the magnetic connection can be a little stronger; When I picked up the Vision Pro, there were a few times it fell off. Therefore, you are better off holding the metal and glass frame.
Interface, hand, and eye tracking.
The operation of the Apple Vision Pro is very simple and gives it a revolutionary feel. There are no controllers to deal with. All you have to do is look at the element you want to select with your eyes and tap with your thumb and forefinger together to "click".
When setting up the Vision Pro, I immediately got used to the input, as you will go through a calibration process that involves following the dots around the screen and selecting it. You'll then see a home screen with iOS-like icons that float in front of the view of the room you're in.
Vision OS uses your real-world view as a baseline because Vision Pro wants to bring digital content into your environment, not take it over. **The transfer is very realistic, as the dedicated R1 chip is fast enough to transfer images to the Vision Pro's Microoled display in 12 milliseconds, which is 8 times faster than you can blink an eye.
I had no problem walking from room to room, or using my iPhone with Vision Pro on, although the frame rate of my iPhone 14 Pro Max was a bit slow.
When you gaze at the home screen view and move your eyes from one icon to another, they light up for selection. This is very satisfying, effortless, and easy to do because the Vision Pro has a camera that faces downward.
What about gestures? By pinching your fingers together and dragging the direction you want to move, you can easily scroll from left to right and top to bottom. Zooming in** or a web page is as simple as pinching your fingers together with both hands and then parting.
Spatial calculations and work.
What can Vision Pro do? For starters, it's a multitasking champion thanks to the built-in M2 chip that runs this operating system. For example, I launched Safari in Space**, then I turned to the left and asked Siri to launch Slack, and then the app appeared. Then I turn to the right side of Safari and open Apple Music so I can ** it in the background.
Even better, apps can be easily moved around the virtual space by selecting the bar below the app, and you can resize them by staring at the bottom right corner and dragging with your finger. If you want to close an app, you can either stare at the X below the window, or simply ask Siri to close all apps.
You can look up at any time and click the floating down arrow to bring up Control Center. From this menu, you can change the environment, turn on guest mode, access Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, start screen recording, and more.
One of the options of the Control Center is to be able to connect with your Mac, but you can also bring it into the Vision Pro by looking at your Mac desktop. I saw a "Connect" button floating above the 14-inch MacBook Pro, I pinched my fingers together, and then saw the laptop's screen go blank and instead suddenly appeared on the wall in front of me.
You get a crisp 4K display that renders text clearly, and you can make the canvas so huge that it dwarfs most of the best monitors. Your keyboard and mouse will still work without lag.
Environment. One of the unique things about Apple Vision Pro is that you can choose from a variety of environments. Think of them as an enhanced version of a 3D desktop. There are a variety of options, from Yosemite, Haleakala to the Moon.
There are also environments that are unique to specific applications. For example, Apple TV+ has its own cinema** movie environment that makes you feel like you're on a 100-foot screen, while Disney+ allows you to use the Avengers Tower as a backdrop and comes with a range of Iron Man sets.
Typing and voice typing.
Apple Vision Pro lets you enter text on a floating keyboard, and it's easy to pair a Bluetooth keyboard with Apple Vision Pro for easier and faster text entry.
3D movies, immersive**, and audio.
With hundreds of 3D movies on Apple TV+, I can't believe how good Superman: Man of Steel is on Vision Pro. When Superman first took off, it was as if he was flying over my shoulder.
The recent "Super Mario Bros." movie is even more immersive, with characters popping off the screen as Mario flies around in a raccoon suit while being chased by an oversized bomb.
If you want to take your entertainment to the next level, you can use Immersive**, a new format that delivers a 3D experience with 8K recording with a 180-degree field of view.
*and space**.
One of the biggest selling points of the Apple Vision Pro is the space and the space. You can shoot 3D stills and shots with the headphones themselves, or shoot space with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Game. Tried some iPad games with connected controllers on the Vision Pro, such as SonicDreamTeam. The action and graphics are smooth, but essentially a 2D experience on the big screen. If you have a powerful Macbook, you can also play Mac games like Resident Evil: Village through Vision Pro.
Gaming is one of the areas where Apple needs to catch up.
Performance. The Apple Vision Pro is equipped with ample features between its M2 chip, which is used for overall performance, and the R1 chip, which is used to handle input from the camera, sensor, and microphone. Overall, I found the Vision Pro to be responsive and smooth, whether I'm pinning multiple apps in space, **3D movies, or playing intense games. The Vision Pro is also cool to the touch.
Battery. The aluminum battery on the Vision Pro always needs to be carried with you to use the headphones, which is not very good. It weighs 124 ounces, which is more than the iPhone 15 Pro Max (7..)8 oz) weight.
As for battery life, the Vision Pro's battery is rated for 2 hours of general use, with a **time of 2.5 hours.
Conclusion. It is the most innovative Apple product since the first generation of iPhones. There's a ton of ingenuity on display here, from the sharp microoled display and ultra-realistic pass-through, to the very intuitive and fun interface that tracks your eyes and hands. I'm also impressed with the spatial computing experience, as it takes multitasking to the next level, especially when you add a Mac.
The situation with the Vision Pro app is clearly still in its early stages, missing some notable heavyweights at launch. But the AR app I've tried is pretty amazing.
*It's easy to be prohibited, I definitely can't afford $3500.