Apple Vision Pro Demo - Review

Hardware Reviews
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I had to take my daughter to the Genius Bar this weekend to repair her dropped iPhone - so I could not resist making an appointment for an AVP demo during the same trip.

The demo tech was friendly and knowledgable. I told him upfront - “My usual full-time workstation is a Mac Pro with 6 monitors which I use for document-intensive work. I am particularly concerned about the reviews I read about the keyboard. If I am convinced I can do my usual workflow in a hotel room with AVP then I will buy it today.” He politely explained that the demo/demo units are limited to a specific scripted demo; therefore they cannot be connected to a bluetooth mouse/keyboard nor can they be connected to a MacBook. So I asked him to just do the standard demo with me.

Conclusions:

(1) The eyetracking is stunning in performance. Keep in mind in engineering school I built an eyetracker decades ago and as a rehab doc I am always interested in tech that can be used by my patients with disabilities. If they could somehow sell the eyetracking without the big AVP and use it as a mouse replacement it would be phenomenal.

(2) My biggest takehome was the appearance of the Spatial Photos and Spatial Videos. Beyond incredible 3D photography - family photos or special event photos using this tech would be priceless. What I also did not realize is that an IPhone 15 Pro with the current iOS can take spatial videos albeit cannot play them realistically. But that means even if you might buy an AVP in the future - or maybe your kids might someday - it may be worth taking spacial videos of your current special moments.

(3) A lot of reviews criticize the AVP’s keyboard; they are correct. It is no more useful than using your TV remote to type the name of the movie you want on Netflix. Apparently that is fixed if you use a bluetooth mouse/keyboard or if you use the mouse/trackpad on an M-series Macbook, but I was not able to test that.

(4) It would have been nice if my daughter could have tried it but the AVP is sized for your head and if you wear glasses it is customized for that. So if you want to share an AVP within the family you need to pay extra and swap these parts when someone different wants to use it - that’s not ideal.

(5) All of the above is intriguing and slightly tempting, but my real use case is multi-monitor keyboard-intensive document review and editing. I could not test that during the demo.

Therefore to decide if it would work for my intended use, I will need to buy one for a 14-day trial. I may do that but I need to do so at a time when I can fit enough testing time into my schedule.

No doubt I will buy one someday - just not sure yet if I will buy V1 or V2 or V3.

That said - my son told me today he saw a used AVP on Ebay for $3000. It’s interesting that they are coming down in cost used so quickly and that the Apple Store has them in stock for pickup same-day. That suggests it has not been a huge winner with the public overall.

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$3,000 sounds suspicious to me.

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I did a demo yesterday in the Century City, Los Angeles Apple Store. I was incredibly impressed (but there’s a fatal flaw for me).

I walked in on the spur of the moment, and didn’t bring my reading glasses. This resulted in us guessing as to which lenses I should use. We tried two sets, but the text and images were only about 90% as crisp as they could have been. So if you use glasses to read, bring those with you.

Like @rkaplan, I thought the eye tracking, Spatial Photos, and Spatial (and 3-D) Videos were all amazing. When I saw some of the photos and videos, I got tears in my eyes.

The other thing that was most impressive was its software design language. It took me about three minutes to be able to interact with every part of the system and apps I could think of. No other company could come out with a product like this. Samsung and Sony will make great micro-displays, and should both have competitors to the VisionPro out this year, but Apple developed top-level software as well as hardware. I think it will set the standard for this type of device, and I expect competitors to copy Apple’s software design.

The virtual keyboard, though, was not easy to use. An external keyboard is necessary if you’re using it for productivity. These can be very light and easy to travel with, so it’s not an issue for me.

The fatal flaw for me: after 20 minutes, I got a neckache. It was noticeable. The VisionPro is just way too heavy for me (I tried both of the strap methods). I need it to be half this weight. I’d like to see Apple’s next version move as much of the device as possible to an outboard module that also holds the battery. Even if it were 1/3 lighter, I wouldn’t buy it.

I would also like to see a macOS version of this, if it could be done small enough. But I could live with the current implementation if it were lighter.

IMO, this is the most significant device since the iPhone. It will change peoples’ lives. But, for me, it has to be much lighter.

Edited to add: I also thought the sound quality was excellent. I can’t use any headphones or ear buds, because I have significant tinnitus in both ears. The built-in sound didn’t make me feel I would be missing out on anything. But, to my dismay, after the demo my ears were ringing louder than usual, and I only watched video for a few minutes in addition to the system sounds. So I’d still have to do something to limit what sounds are going into my ears. This is not an issue for the vast majority of people, so I think the built-in speakers will be very satisfying.

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I totally read that as an Aliens vs Predators appointment. Sorry …it’s the movie Junkie in me.

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I tried the AVP and just loved it. It’s worth noting that I found it quite comfortable once we adjusted the strap to go over my head.

If you haven’t seen the demo, I highly recommend it. It’s mind blowing. I went with two friends. One friend wants to get one for his mother.

Most of my comments consisted of the articulate “WOW! WOW!”

I didn’t try the keyboard. I have an old Magic Keyboard which I am hoping would work.

The visuals were beyond description. You do need an iPhone 15 (Pro?) to make your own 3D videos. It figures as I have an iPhone 14 ProMax. The audio was quite good. I used an adjustment of +2.00 readers and the visuals were perfect.

Now all I have to do is find a way to come up with $3,500+! I cannot imagine NOT getting one just not soon enough!!!

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Have you tried hearing aids? They are known to often be helpful in treating tinnitus.

No problem wearing hearing aids while using AVP - I did that on my demo.

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Thank you very much for the suggestion! I have heard that, but forgot about it. I will look into it.

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