Can a $3,500 headset replace your TV? We tried Vision Pro to find out
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I don’t have one, but I have heard that Photo management is also very engaging with the photos filling your visual space. I suspect that any primarily visual activity like this and watching videos would be greatly enhanced with AVP.
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A shill piece which ends by saying it doesn’t make sense for most people? That’s a new definition of the term.
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There's a pretty big gulf between a "$300 42-inch 1080p backlit LCD hotel room TV" and a $2500 OLED that doesn't need to be filled by a $3500 device.
What most people would describe as a very good tv viewing experience can be had for 1/3 the price of the Vision Pro.
What most people would describe as a very good tv viewing experience can be had for 1/3 the price of the Vision Pro.
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Maybe this is so blindingly obvious it doesn't even need to be mentioned in the article - but, you know, the main reason I use a TV is to watch something with other people. Which you categorically cannot do with a VR headset, no matter how fancy.....
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As for gaming, there is a PlayStation Remote Play app for iPad. I don’t know if it has been blocked from visionOS, but it might work.
It streams over Wi-Fi, so obviously you’re not going to get a full 4K-60 from it, but the existence of the PlayStation Portal device suggests latency may be acceptable.
Might be worth a test.
It streams over Wi-Fi, so obviously you’re not going to get a full 4K-60 from it, but the existence of the PlayStation Portal device suggests latency may be acceptable.
Might be worth a test.
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For TV watchers who turn away from commercials rather than muting them, this might make them watch commercials just a teeny-tiny bit longer. Which means a tiny few more billions of $$ in ad revenue.
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I think for those excited by the Vision Pro, they simply forget or don't appreciate how utterly isolating this tech is. There's no way my relationship with my partner would survive me donning this face-computer every evening and for that reason it's the one thing that makes it a complete non-starter. At the very most I think this will become a niche interest with perhaps some comelling use cases but, never mass market and never the future of computing.
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My iPhone 3GS was not that great, compared to anything today. Favorite model is still 4+, by the way.
Anyway, I think the Vision Pro 15 Max will be pretty good.
Anyway, I think the Vision Pro 15 Max will be pretty good.
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I was actually wondering if there is an option to synch multiple headsets to be able to watch the same thing together.
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Any chance you could test and maybe add a little blurb about the IMAX app? I read that it offers the native 1:43:1 imax aspect ratio, which is pretty incredible.
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Yeah, I don't buy it as a TV replacement for that reason alone. A TV supplement? Sure. But if I'm having friends over to watch the game, it sure as hell isn't going to be economical or convenient to have everyone bring their own $3,500 portable viewing devices. It also wouldn't be as fun.
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So, that's $7,000 for two of you to be sitting on the couch watching the same thing you could on a TV? I'm just not buying it and I suspect most folks won't either. Even if the price drops to something more reasonable (and it surely will).
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So many people watch movies and TV on their phone. Pretty sure that isn't with other people.
In a few years, when the price gets reasonable, headsets like this are going to be super popular. I can picture lower-end ones with the functionality of a smart TV instead of general purpose like AVP and without pass through video becoming very common.
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Yeah I guess I can understand it for use on a plane or maybe if you live alone, but it just seems like such an isolating experience.
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Yeah, what's this article about an expensive new tech product doing on Ars??
https://meincmagazine.com/gadgets/2022/08/the-next-desktop-sized-oled-monitor-will-cost-3500/https://meincmagazine.com/gadgets/2022/10/rtx-4090-review-nvidias-biggest-gpu-is-easily-its-best/
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At home it wouldn't make much sense. But on a flight or in a hotel, like described in the article?
Or if you already have the headsets for some other reason?
It seems technically possible but maybe not incredibly useful for a ton of people. At the same time the comparison to the iPhone suggests its success was thanks to little things adding up, rather than a single killer feature.
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You want Apple to allow you to pay for content ... elsewhere?
Maybe play Death Stranding 2 at launch instead of 5 years later?
Nooo you'll pay for an App Store exclusive (as opposed to a multiplatform Steam release) when they manage to port it, and maybe something extra for the Vision Pro version.
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Quest 3 is rated at two hours, in reality gets a bit less. The Vision Pro is rated at 2.5 hours, in reality gets more.
Also you can use any phone charger battery to extend the Vision Pro battery life...
You aren't paying just for the 1.5x better battery life, but for the full range of ability. The Vision Pro is better at movies, yes, but that is only one small aspect...
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Interesting start. No gaming is a big problem but likely will be fixed for future versions. How does it work for people that need glasses for close up vision?
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I’d like to hear more about the sports viewing use case.
The accounts I’ve read about the demos putting you in an incredible viewing position seem interesting. Is it possible to do that with actual live sporting events happening today? What percent of sports broadcasts would be improved by watching on the Vision Pro?
I probably still couldn’t justify the price if I could watch a random Tuesday night baseball game from behind the catcher, but to me, that’s a different and more compelling experience than “it’s a TV, but it’s virtual.”
Seems like the sports viewing aspects could have fit well in entertainment-focused review.
The accounts I’ve read about the demos putting you in an incredible viewing position seem interesting. Is it possible to do that with actual live sporting events happening today? What percent of sports broadcasts would be improved by watching on the Vision Pro?
I probably still couldn’t justify the price if I could watch a random Tuesday night baseball game from behind the catcher, but to me, that’s a different and more compelling experience than “it’s a TV, but it’s virtual.”
Seems like the sports viewing aspects could have fit well in entertainment-focused review.
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If your going to argue it's better than most people's secondary screens, the kicker is the price. You could buy roughly 2.75 of 55" LG C3 OLED screens for the same price and just replace those secondary screens. And if the person hasn't done that already, it's likely because they don't want to spend that much money.
It's cool as a tech gadget/prototype, but really too expensive. Maybe the 3rd, 4th, or 5th iteration will be cheaper and/or more compelling.
It's cool as a tech gadget/prototype, but really too expensive. Maybe the 3rd, 4th, or 5th iteration will be cheaper and/or more compelling.
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I agree it's more of a TV supplement... but it is a home theater replacement.
That is to say, that with the Vision Pro I no longer feel the need to keep updating my receiver, speakers, TV, and so on to achieve awesome levels of quality for shared viewing. I can live just fine with a cheap big screen TV and a sound bar, because watching something with someone else doesn't need the level of quality I had been looking for and few other people cared about.
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For an inherently personal device (so the cost cannot be amortized across multiple users) it is way too expensive for the general public right now. If the price drops and wages increase, it may become less niche.
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A friend got one, and of course the first thing I do is to play a round of Mahjong on it hahaha.
The design is flawed like every other VR/AR headset... gets tiring after a 1-2 hours of having it on your head.
It's less tiring than other VR/AR headsets though (mainly from the lack of whole body/head movement since it's not really designed for physical activity like oculus or valve index)
A for effort, but unless they can solve the physics problem of having additional weight strapped to your head inducing neck fatigue (I even exercise it sometimes since I need to for autocross and track days, so I assume it's even more tiring for the average person that doesn't), it's never gonna be something that people can use for a extended period of time...
Actually, I can see it as a TV replacement if you're sitting somewhere with a headrest, but they'll need to build in a dent for the headstrap since that digs into your head of you're resting on it....
The design is flawed like every other VR/AR headset... gets tiring after a 1-2 hours of having it on your head.
It's less tiring than other VR/AR headsets though (mainly from the lack of whole body/head movement since it's not really designed for physical activity like oculus or valve index)
A for effort, but unless they can solve the physics problem of having additional weight strapped to your head inducing neck fatigue (I even exercise it sometimes since I need to for autocross and track days, so I assume it's even more tiring for the average person that doesn't), it's never gonna be something that people can use for a extended period of time...
Actually, I can see it as a TV replacement if you're sitting somewhere with a headrest, but they'll need to build in a dent for the headstrap since that digs into your head of you're resting on it....
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I don’t think it’s a big problem. If gaming was so important gaming hasn’t led other VR headsets to finally transcend from being niche products to hitting critical mass.
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You've just made their point for them. They said the main use of a television is watching together. Not the main use of any screen. People already watch solitarily on their phone (especially the younger the generation), laptop or computer monitor.
But when my wife and I watch something on the tv/projector, it's because we're watching it together.
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If you're using your friend's, then it's not going to be perfectly fitted to your face. Which was discussed in the article. I wouldn't extrapolate from your singular experience.
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You act like most of that are not possible on the quest....
Vision Pro has a external battery that you have to stick in your pocket (before buying accessories to strap it to the headstrap anyways), quest is built in... and you can also power it with a battery bank...
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I saw an estimate that put the vision pro cost to make at a bit over $1700 so it does have lots of room to come down but not into the consumer space yet.
I was wondering how much of the price equation was for cachet and keeping it available for everyone who can afford it and wants one since it seems like a pretty smooth roll out.
I was wondering how much of the price equation was for cachet and keeping it available for everyone who can afford it and wants one since it seems like a pretty smooth roll out.
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