Philip Rosedale Demos Vision Pro, Deems It Too Heavy & Isolating for Mainstream. How About You?

Philip Rosedale wrote a hands-on (eyes-on?) review of the Apple Vision Pro, based on a demo that technically and experientially dazzled him -- and also gave him a potential neck strain:

I found myself at one point actually resting my chin in my hand with my elbow on the table because… it’s that heavy. And I am a large strong person used to wearing these things. Way too heavy for prolonged use. You have to tighten it too your face really hard because of the single strap, and it felt more uncomfortable at the contact points with your face than the Quest. 

Trouble is, putting the Vision Pro on too tightly makes it likely to cause hair damage. And by Vision Pro's own branding, it's meant to be a device for professional use, i.e. for 8 hours a day.

"As with other devices like the Quest, Magic Leap, and Varjo," Philip concludes, "I predict it will find use in narrow verticals like industrial training."

That sounds right! And it's difficult to imagine a short term scenario where Apple can make a headset device that's much lighter and less costly.

How about you, New World Notes reader? If you've tried (or bought) the Vision Pro, please share your reaction in Comments. I'm especially curious if you could see yourself using the Vision Pro in a virtual world -- either an existing one, or new worlds built around the Vision Pro.

I haven't gotten a demo myself, by the way, but hope to this month!

Comments

[Adeon Writer]

"It's too lonely" was the complaint for early Oculus dev kits. This was because nearly every VR experience was either a single player game, demo, or experience.

It's fundamentally isolating to have an experience that no one else around you is capable of experiencing.

That's why the most popular uses of VR end up being social in nature.

Apple may not want their device to be considered a VR headset, but people are having the same gut-reaction.

As for being too heavy - yeah, making your headset out of glass and metal will do that. They should have gone with plastic like everyone else.

[Martin K.]

> You have to tighten it too your face really hard because of the single strap

I guess after watching some (or really: any) of the YouTube reviews, most people would know to avoid the Solo Knit Band for best comfort. Or in Apple's words (from a support document): If you’re not able to find the right fit with the Solo Knit Band that came with your Apple Vision Pro, try using the Dual Loop Band that came in the box.

> As for being too heavy - yeah, making your headset out of glass and metal will do that. They should have gone with plastic like everyone else.

I'm not sure about the glass, but I'm pretty sure that Apple will stick to the metal because of heat management and robustness: the Vision Pro burns more power than the Quest 3 and that heat has to find a way to leave the headset. Also, Apple probably wants to avoid anything like Meta's problems with breaking Elite straps.

[Brian Aviator]

I have one and have been using it since launch day (Friday February 2). My thoughts on the device are that it works much better than I expected. I suffer from some vision issues that Apple told me before launch would likely require the use of some accessibility features to mitigate. I was quite surprised to find that the Vision Pro just worked for me without enabling any accessibility features.

My impressions so far are that the displays (with the Zeiss attached prescription lenses in my case) are truly amazing and provide an experience that far exceeded my experience with the Meta Quest 2 (also with some 3rd party prescription lenses. I have yet to try a Meta Quest 3). It is quite the experience to watch video content on this. The Disney+, Apple TV, and Max Vision Pro native apps are pretty slick and the ability to place the screen anywhere spatially (and have it stay there within the real space) is pretty cool.

The fact that no controllers are necessary is a huge plus. The eye tracking works really well and the use of hand gestures to control the UI took all of about 3-4 minutes to get completely comfortable with. The immersive spatial audio was also striking (and I didn't notice a huge improvement when switching to the new Airpods Pro within my quiet office environment - the speakers in the headset are that good).

I totally agree with Phillip's comments about weight. This thing is heavy on your face. Both my spouse and I have Vision Pro units and both agree that switching to the Dual Loop Band was better for both of us in terms of weight distribution and pressure on the face. I have been able to use it for 90 minutes plus in a session without a huge issue but I always knew it was there.

One fun thing - I am also participating in the Second Life Mobile Alpha and was able to install the iPadOS version of the Mobile Viewer on the Vision Pro with TestFlight and explore my museums in world. Using the iPad virtual controls through touch/eye controls were not as smooth as on the iPad itself but it worked well enough to get around and look around without issue.

The Vision Pro isn't for everyone. Particularly at $3.5K ($4.5K if you add storage, prescription lenses, and AppleCare) and considering some of the current tradeoffs (weight, external battery, etc). I do think it is a first gen product that Apple generally got right for what it is. I do suspect their will be follow on products that address weight issues, focus more on AR, don't look as foolish to wear etc. in due time. Will that make it appeal to more people? Maybe. But I will definitely be keeping mine. This thing is almost magical to use.