You've no doubt been bombarded with news, videos and hot takes about Apple's Reality Pro headset over the past few weeks. The mixed reality wearable represents Apple's audacious $3,500 stake in the ground for the future of spatial computing. It's been hyped as a game-changing revolution in how we'll eventually interact with digital content. But now that I've spent quality time actually using the Vision Pro first-hand, I've got somereal thoughts to share. The good, the bad, and the "ummm, you first Apple" awkwardness of it all.
Let me start by saying that in many ways, the Vision Pro is an incredible technological achievement that truly must be experienced to be fully appreciated. The micro-OLED displays are sublime, with vibrant colors, inky blacks, and a level of clarity that just doesn't translate through photos or videos. Using the Vision Pro's eye-tracking and hand gesture controls to navigate iPadOS-style app windows that float weightlessly in the air around you is legitimately magical the first few times you do it.
Apple's processing muscle allows for multiple active app windows with stunningly crisp UI rendering, spatial 3D audio that accurately tracks as you turn your head, and the ability to layer digital content over real-world views thanks to the impressive outward cameras. It's one of those "wow, the future is here" moments...for a little while at least.
But it doesn't take long for the Vision Pro's notable flaws and usability quirks to pierce that dreamy mixed reality illusion. Let's start with the proverbial elephant in the room - actually wearing the darn thing. At just under two pounds (before adding the required external battery pack's heft), the Vision Pro is a dense, front-heavy piece of kit that quickly becomes fatiguing during extended use sessions.
I've worn the Vision Pro for as long as 5 hours at a time while working or gaming, and by the 2-3 hour mark, the pressure on my forehead and overall weight start to become intensely uncomfortable. My neck muscles eventually give out from holding up the unusual front load. And if I'm being honest, while the foam facial interface works well enough, having this fairly large device strapped to my face just feels...awkward and borderline claustrophobic after a while. I can't easily snack, have a coffee or even reach up to rub my eyes without disturbing the Vision Pro's precise eye tracking alignment.
The heat buildup during those longer stretches doesn't help matters either. While Apple's cooling system does an admirable job keeping the headset from getting overly toasty against your face, the warmth radiating from the visor area is noticeable. There were a few instances where the system seemingly couldn't keep up in warm rooms, causing some temporary software glitching until things cooled down again.
Speaking of software, while Apple's visionOS interface is beautifully designed from a visual perspective, it still feels very much like an iPadOS-inspired first step rather than a fully-formed mixed reality platform. The iPadOS app windows and navigation translates perfectly fine at first glance. But when you dive deeper into using these virtualized apps via imperfect eye tracking and gesture controls, the experience quickly becomes fidgety, imbalanced and inconsistent compared to more traditional mouse/keyboard inputs.
Apple's eye tracking works remarkably well overall, with the simple act of looking at different app windows or interface elements to bring them into focus bordering on magical. But it's far from a flawless experience. There's a noticeable amount of overshoot and unintended activation whenever you dart your eyes quickly around the virtual landscape. Trying to focus on very precise interface elements like the trackpad or small text fields turns into a blinking match of repeatedly re-focusing your gaze. Apple's incorporation of basic blink controls for primary click functions helps a bit, but it's an imperfect solution.
The gesture tracking for basic navigation functions is similarly impressive yet flawed. Once you get past the disorienting reality of pinching and swiping at seemingly empty air, the responsiveness and accuracy to basic commands is satisfyingly intuitive. But throw more complex multi-finger gestures into the mix like trackpad emulation for text entry and precision cursor work? Get ready for lots of re-tries and eventual controller bypass. I found myself frequently resorting to the included Magic Keyboard and Trackpad accessories just to get basic typing and scrolling tasks done efficiently on the virtual desktop.
Perhaps most frustratingly, almost every major usability gripe I encountered felt like it stemmed from the ever-present reality of wearing a headset rather than using a traditional desktop setup. Beyond just the weight and ergonomic strains, there's the constant isolation of being visually cut off from your surroundings. Apple has some decent passthrough camera capabilities to blend digital and physical reality when needed. But wearing the Vision Pro for any extended period of time essentially means ignoring the outside world around you.
My wife commented how she dislikes when I'm using the Vision Pro at home. Not because of any fear surrounding VR/XR tech, but because it makes me feel "weirdly unapproachable and disconnected" even when she's in the same room. The simulated eye rendering of my eyes on the Vision Pro's outward display is fairly convincing, but she still felt like she was talking to a facsimile rather than the real me. A silly issue you'd think, but it speaks to the isolating social toll inherent in extended mixed reality use.
On that same note, while it's impressive how much processing power Apple has packed into the Vision Pro's svelte form factor, the mere act of having to connect an external battery pack and deal with cable management every time I wanted to use the headset was a recurring frustration. Not gonna lie, on multiple occasions the sheer hassle of that setup alone killed my motivation to even bother with the Vision Pro despite its capabilities.
I'm not even going to get into the comical lack of apps and software optimizations for visionOS right now. That's simply a reality of this being an incredibly ambitious and complex first-gen device rollout. Most companies would shy away from consumer launches in these early stages. But Apple's going to Apple, jumping head-first into the deep end and giving developers time to port and adapt to the considerable technical lift of really leaning into mixed reality applications. Fair play.
With all those admittedly harsh criticisms aired, here's where I'll pivot to the more optimistic, forward-looking perspective: For all its frustrations and imperfections out of the gate, Apple's Vision Pro nevertheless provides humbling glimpses into the inevitability and world-changing potential of spatial computing becoming the new normal for content consumption and digital interactions. Even despite the headset's flaws, I had numerous "ah-ha!" moments during my testing where the technology clicked into place so perfectly that I was left awestruck.
Simple things like watching movies on a gigantic, virtual IMAX-sized screen from the comfort of my couch, UI windows effortlessly floating and rearranging around me, or the ability to resize digital windows as far as the eye can see and precisely cursor across them. While rudimentary from a conceptual standpoint, these core use cases showcase the almost indescribable freedoms and conveniences of untethering our app and desktop experiences from the constraints of physical hardware.
Then you layer in more advanced capabilities like comprehensive hand-tracking and gesture support for natural 3D modeling and creation workflows. Or the potential for photorealistic Facetime and video conferencing where conversations happen mixed into your actual environment. My mind races at the possibilities that emerge when you design software and user experiences around this medium rather than just porting legacy app interfaces into it. It's an digital frontier ripe for innovation.
Speaking of new interaction models, I feel like the Vision Pro is also a harbinger for the natural evolution of more immersive, transparent augmented reality platforms beyond just opaque virtual reality headsets. While the current blending of real and digital visuals on the Vision Pro is limited to passthrough camera views, you can squint and see the potential for seamless merging and occlusion of virtual assets in your actual environment. Pair that with the promise of ultra-efficient waveguide optics and stamina-rich micro-LED or micro-OLED displays, and we're rapidly approaching an era of AR glasses that will be as casually wearable as modern eyeglasses.
As exciting as the underlying technological promises may be, arguably the bigger hurdle Apple's Vision Pro has to overcome is the existential matter of user acceptance. No matter how mind-bending the pros of mixed reality computing may be in the long run, the Vision Pro's inherent isolation and disconnect from your immediate physical reality cultivates an inescapable sense of unease. It represents a pivotal trade-off our society will have to grapple with regarding the delicate balance of embracing digital enhancements versus not losing our grasp on true human connections and embodied presence.
I know that sounds like deep, prophetic talk, but consider it: Between the act of constantly strapping yourself into a VR headset, digitally avatarizing your appearance in virtual spaces, outsourcing complex physical interactions to intangible gesture mimicry, and essentially ignoring the immediate world around you...are we collectively prepared for how profoundly destabilizing and isolating that paradigm shift could become if we're not hyper-vigilant? With connected technologies like social media already straining societal fabrics, I can't help but wonder about the potential cultural shockwaves a mixed reality existence would trigger.
These are the heady, complex thoughts that popped into my mind time and again during my Vision Pro testing. And they're just one dimension of many to consider as this oft-maligned device begins charting a path forward. Because despite my litany of frustrations with the actual user experience at this stage, I cannot overstate my simultaneous excitement for the imagination-sparking potential I witnessed with my own eyes.
But for all the understandable roasting the Vision Pro has endured so far, I will forever remember my time with it as the humble beginning of the spatial computing era. The start of a revolution in how we visually process and interact with digital information. A wild, deeply flawed yet enthrallingly tantalizing first draft at what I firmly believe will eventually represent the new default canvas for our productivity, entertainment and communication mediums.
Rome wasn't built in a day, and the "Infinite Canvases" enabled by ubiquitous mixed reality interfaces won't hit their stride overnight either. But we have to start somewhere. As audaciously stumbling and overreaching as Apple's Vision Pro may feel out of the gate, it's nevertheless a critical opening salvo that will spur broader innovation and pave vital foundational pathways for the rest of the industry.
So while you should feel free to poke fun at the Vision Pro's many pain points in these embryonic stages, don't be foolish enough to discount its grander ambitions. Apple may have jumped the gun, but the North Star guiding that leap is a worthy one that could change the trajectory of humankind. And that alone makes this quirky first step worth appreciating for the shockwaves it's about to unleash across the tech landscape.