If you’re one of the people who’s making a list of major events in 2024, the Apple Vision Pro craze is probably somewhere between the Matpat retiring and Joe Biden tweeting a Dark Brandon meme after the Super Bowl. If you’re not doing that, you really should; it’s a great way to cope. But what’s actually going on with the Apple Vision Pro? Is this just another trend, or are we looking at the future of content interaction? Until now, VR technology has always had potential, but had the problems of being too expensive and impractical for widespread use. The Apple Vision Pro is a new, fresh take on VR technology, but does it solve these problems, or fall victim to the same pitfalls as its predecessors?
VR in Public
The images of Apple Vision Pro users using their headsets on planes, park benches, and in restaurants utterly shocked me when I first saw them. Being a tech geek myself, I was fully ready to withhold cynicism and judgment, and investigate how Apple had truly managed to outdoor-proof one of the most intricate and advanced pieces of technology of our time. Unfortunately, from all accounts, it looks like they… haven't. Countless reviews had the same critiques: the EyeSight feature was uncanny and weird, it was heavy and uncomfortable, the vision was imperfect, and it just felt weird. Overall, every review seemed to come to a similar conclusion: Apple never meant for this device to be used on the go.
The passthrough vision feature, in all fairness, received remarkable reviews for what it was: a system of cameras that streamed the outside world to your display. The issue is more about the inherent nature of replacing the world with a video screen: reviews cited motion blur, a narrowed field of vision, issues with low lighting, and by design, the screen can only display about half the colors a human can actually see. The design itself received criticism too; for being heavy and uncomfortable to wear for very long. The battery life was reported as being about 2 hours, which is a fairly good sign that Apple had no intention of outdoor use with this product. Its fragility, glass design, and non-waterproof open fans reinforce this hypothesis.
Beyond just the physical device, the controls received a lot of flak for being incompatible with movement: open windows wouldn’t move with you, so you quite literally leave your apps behind while you walk. The final complaint in this area was the clearest sign of this design’s purpose: Apple simply provides no apps that have use outdoors. Furthermore, one general complaint found in many reviews is actually quite outside of Apple’s control: users just felt weird out in public. Though none of them wrote of harassment or robbery, there appeared to be a universal experience of fear and self-consciousness when having this brick strapped to their face. It appeared most people assumed them to be blind, and simply weren’t used to the idea that someone wearing a VR headset could see. Also, the EyeSight feature didn’t make for seamless eye contact- it felt awkward and creepy. In all honesty, this issue may just take time to solve- but that time might have to be spent using a better headset, because it’s unlikely the Vision Pro will see common street use.
But I wanted to check my hypothesis in an online environment more supportive of the Vision Pro; hence, I turned to its subreddit, r/VisionPro. Hitting 60k members in just the last few months, it’s already in the top 2% of Reddit pages. Scrolling through the most popular posts, very few of them appear to be of outdoor use. There are a few, of course, but most cases of going mobile with the Vision Pro seem to discuss its use on airplanes or trains- although kudos to the one champ on the subreddit who got open heart surgery while wearing it, I guess. There were even numerous posts about “crackgate”: apparently, the Vision Pro is delicate, and not made for heavy duty use. Unfortunately, it appears that even the most diehard supporters of this product acknowledge its shortcomings, especially its lack of apps. Despite the subreddit’s excitement, their posts themselves act as the last nail in the coffin that will seal this device firmly indoors.
Are We There Yet?
It appears that all the news we’re seeing about droves of tech bros wearing this thing around the clock is more of a trend than anything else. But that, to me, doesn’t doom this device or prove me right. How was the Apple Vision Pro received by the general indoor public, and is it in a place to bring VR to the masses?
I’ll answer the second question first: no. I’ll let the price of the device speak for itself, but this product costs $3,499. This price warrants no review, because it communicates the device’s target audience very clearly: tech superfans with a premium budget. In my previous article, I stated that the high price of VR would be one of the main chokepoints in getting this technology to the public. Apple seems to agree with this concept, because they limited initial production in order to see what early adopters think of it. Surprisingly, despite this, Apple still managed to sell all 200,000 units it made, which shocked me. While the price would definitely limit future growth, what Apple has proven with this figure is that the market for high-end VR/AR is a lot higher than we - me especially - thought. Apple’s stock price rose slightly immediately after the headset’s release, signaling that investors in the field are optimistic about this tech. Apple itself seems to indicate that mass VR isn’t feasible quite yet, by limiting their initial order stock, but that day might come a lot sooner than we all think.
Revolutionary or Rip-off?
But as for the main question: is this revolutionary piece of tech even, well, good? And to that end, it would appear to be largely a resounding yes. While many reviews share confusion over its purpose, most reviews also heap praise on its central features: display, spatial tracking, and controls. The display received universal praise, and it's clear this amazing new 23-million-pixel monitor is where most of the $3,499 price tag comes from. Even in natural lighting, which should be a nightmare for a dynamic display range, the Vision Pro was still usable, if a bit imperfect. The spatial tracking was revolutionary, and received no complaints. And the controls were stated to be hugely intuitive and precise, although they received feedback that having to look directly at anything you wanted to interact with destroyed user flow. Finally, most reviews also cited its easy setup and use. It's clear that Apple has made a breakthrough in high-end VR tech, and has priced the Vision Pro accordingly.
The Future
So, what does the Vision Pro mean for the future of VR tech, and what are we seeing now? I asked at the start of this article whether all the Vision Pro news we were seeing was just a trend; but now, it feels almost more accurate to use the term “beta test”. Are we going to be seeing these devices everywhere this year? No, Apple has limited supplies. Moreover, the very nature of the Vision Pro doesn't appear to lend itself to outdoor use, despite the recent trend we've seen. But the sales figures, impressive new tech, and stock price all make it clear that Apple has figured something out here. They've figured out that there is a market for casual, home-use VR coming, and that it's coming sooner than we thought. The Vision Pro is their attempt to see what that market will look like. While it's hard to say at this point, the strengths and weaknesses are clear. The display and controls of this product are years ahead of what came before, and given its cost, it’s going to stay a leisure for a while. Consumers can expect this headset to stay on the market like most headsets before it: gaming and movies. However, while the outdoor features are lagging behind, the relative success of this product shows there is a market for outdoor VR. While that future is far away, consumers shouldn’t count it out yet. This is the first real attempt at an outdoor VR headset, so being riddled with errors is par for the course. But now that Apple has the “VR” part down, they will likely begin perfecting the “outdoor” part over the next several releases. The lack of apps or uses makes it clear that Vision Pro isn't the final product. Currently, it faces the same problems VR has always had: high cost, low comfort, and little use. However, as the future of VR approaches, I think we may have a vision of what it will look like.