pros & Cons: Apple Vision pro

On September 22nd, 2023, Apple officially released their Apple Vision Pro for purchase in stores and online. This product has been highly anticipated since it’s announcement at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference the prior June. Pre-orders officially opened on January 19, 2024 for customers who were too eager to wait. 

The gadget is a spatial computer that blends digital content and apps into your physical space - letting you navigate using your eyes, hands, and voice - in essence it's a virtual reality headset. 

Vision Pro is reported to have sold roughly 200,000+ units within it's first day of release, a staggering volume when one considers the hefty $3,500 price tag that comes attached. For those interested in owning a pair of Vision Pros of their own, you'll want a compatible iPhone model that runs IOS 17.2 or later (anything after the iPhone Xr should work) in order to fully utilize the Vision Pro's capabilities. Likewise, any iPad model running iPadOS 17+ and any Mac running MacOS 14 Sonoma or greater will be sufficient to interface with the Vision Pros. Customers with poor eyesight are advised to utilize contact lenses or optical inserts in tandem with the headset, although this is a combo prone to glares.

The Apple Vision Pros would be perfect for a long flight or road trip as users can stream TV shows, movies, and play video games all in one compact system. While these settings might’ve typically discouraged someone from watching a movie as their surroundings may be crowded, the new environment feature allows users to fog out the background with some beautiful views like a snowy forest or a mountaintop. This feature can make any movie, show, or activity a more unique and immersive experience. The Vision Pros can have as many tabs as you want open at a time which could be perfect if you're working on a project or need to use multiple sources of information. The immersion alone makes this device so interesting and seems to be worth a try. 

Unfortunately for Apple, the product’s cons may seem to outweigh the pros. An alarming amount of customers reportedly have been returning their device within the 14-day return period given to new customers when purchasing the product. Most of the complaints coming from these returns seem to be weight-related, with symptoms including motion sickness, headaches, nausea, redness in the eyes, and the puny 2-2.5 hour battery life that could barely last enough time to finish a longer movie. Some simply believe that the $3,500 price tag is too much for the little content that Vision Pros provide. 

Apple Vision has added features, such as a vacuum game for people that need that little extra motivation to simply do a chore. Some believe that the product may become a danger to those who integrate it into everyday life. Some of these concerns, like the outrage that broke out when a CyberTruck driver was photographed using his Vision Pro on the open road, are already coming to fruition. With any new technology there will undoubtedly be fools who make poor decisions, a tendency some may simply chalk up to Darwinism, however some of this products detriments are simply dangerous net-negatives. The eye and vision damage associated with prolonged screen time has long been observed, however VR brings these concerns to a boiling point. The intensely close proximity of the user's eyes to the screens inside a VR-headset are a straining and ultimately hazardous feature that's becoming commonplace with the wider adoption of Virtual and Augmented reality technologies.

Verdict: I don't believe that this product is a worthwhile investment and would implore any potential buyers to explore the plethora of cheaper, more effective alternatives on the market. In comparison to the Meta Quest Three, a $500 product (One seventh the cost of Apple's), Vision Pro holds little ground. Sure, the headset's integration with the IOS ecosystem is cool and screen sharing one's phone to their goggles has some novelty, but realistically this is a product meant solely for Tech YouTubers and Apple fanboys with money to burn.