A few months back, I got my hands on the new Apple Vision Pro, and I’m here to give you my unfiltered impressions.
A little background: I’ve been deeply involved in mixed reality and e-tech - helping to curate, direct and produce experiences for the Oculus, VIVE, and Magic Leap for major TV series (Game of Thrones, Lovecraft Country, His Dark Materials, Westworld), and even a “VR Wall” red carpet experience for Watchmen where actors were blended into a 3D scene in real time during the premiere. So, you get the point — my interest in the Apple Vision Pro is more than just passing; I’m trying to figure out what kind of experience, what kind of UX makes sense in as we (UXUI leaders, product leaders, and entertainment industry leaders) navigate this space moving forward.
Here are my thoughts, broken down:
THE PHYSICAL DEVICE
Opportunities
The headset is noticeably less bulky compared to the Oculus or VIVE.
It adjusts to your vision prescription on the fly, which is freaking game-changing. They even had a machine in-store to capture your prescription. (Didn’t need it though, Lasik took care of that for me. VR devices were a big reason I opted for Lasik in the first place.)
ZERO eye strain. Every other VR/MR/XR device I’ve used has left me feeling annoyed by the discomfort.
The build quality is undeniably premium. It's gorgeous, just like everything else Apple makes.
Challenges
The battery pack that hangs off the headset and needs to stay plugged in. I can see that becoming a nuisance (I'm thinking back to the Magic Leap which required you to have pockets to hold the computing unit, and if you're wearing a dress or something without pockets, you just have to hold it). The Apple demo guy held it for me, so I didn’t have to feel its weight, but that’s not a long-term solution.
It’s quite heavy on the head. I had to tighten it quite a bit to keep it secure, and during my demo (which is about 25 minutes), it was already starting to give me a headache.
The battery life is only a couple of hours.
The cost is rather high. (~$3500) Even being an avid Apple user, it gives me pause.
TBH I would still rather use a traditional keyboard and screen (that I can look away from) for admin types of work tasks.
USER EXPERIENCE
Opportunities
They’ve ditched the need for a controller. Everything is eye-tracking plus finger-pinching; it works well, it feels intuitive.
The resolution and environmental integration are impressive.
The “pass-through” mode is smooth — no noticeable lag, and the resolution is sharp.
They’ve added some clever touches in pass-through mode, like allowing you to make eye contact with someone even while immersed in your environment.
The panoramic photo view...OMG. It's mind-blowing. If you don't know what I'm referring to, you can basically view panoramic photos in your photo library as if you were immersed in them.
The device’s ability to record 3D video and replay it in immersive 3D is very cool.
You can open multiple apps at once and reposition them anywhere in space. Want to lie down? Just drag a window up above your head. To be fair, you can do this to some extent with the Oculus as well, but the number of "tabs" and the spacial aspect is more limited.
It’s Apple, so all your data is accessible across your devices — so that's great for workflow.
Guest user access mode ensures your personal stuff stays private. That's nice.
I didn't try Face-timing with another user with the device on (for obvious reasons), but I've heard that it feels similar to the pass-through mode while you're speaking to the other person.
Challenges
To get the best 3D video experience in Apple Photos, you need to record with the built-in 3D camera and view the video you've created. But, real talk, who’s wearing a $3500 headset to a party or on a hike to capture videos that only a few people with the device can fully enjoy?
Regular iPhone videos get a bit of a 3D effect, but it’s not as immersive.
I didn’t try typing, but I’ve seen others report that it’s not the best experience.
The device doesn't perfectly integrate every element from the real world. Waving your hand in front of the goggles causes a halo effect.
I’m still questioning the broader use case. Is this for remote workers? People in open offices seeking privacy? Gamers? Or is Apple pitching this as the future of personal computing? It’s extremely cool, but I can’t yet see it being a daily tool.
3RD PARTY APPLICATIONS
Having worked in the entertainment industry for about a decade, I was paying pretty close attention to how different streaming apps worked in this device. I wanted to understand if there was going to be a big upgrade to the watch experience. TLDR: I think there's some incredibly exciting places to go, but out of the gate, it may not be that different for most watch experiences.
Opportunities
When brands are willing and able to craft new experiences especially for the 3D experience of the Apple Vision Pro, it's absolutely amazing. Lookin' at you, Paramount+, Disney+ and WBD :)
You're able to multi-task watching a movie with doing other work by opening different tabs and windows and dragging them around.
Challenges
There's no "magic button" that allows you to convert legacy media into 3D-optimized content. Streaming clients have enormous libraries of video content that will probably end up looking pretty much how it looks now (eg, 2D). I don't know if that's a bad thing, though; I don't know if I WANT all of my old movies in 3D. It's just that if it's not different, why switch to a new device?
At least at the time I tried it, there's no way to co-watch or have a watch party with others.
I'd really love to see some of the livestreaming controls that you might get on YouTube, Twitch, VEEPs, etc, integrated into this space. Can you imagine, for instance, being able to zoom around a couple on a dance floor as you're voting for your favorite DWTS couple?
Hard to distribute content widely to others given the price point of device.
Having said all that, goshdarnit, this thing is cool as hell. 😎
Have any thoughts or want to add your own observation? Leave a comment below, I love talking about this stuff.