Can a $3,500 headset replace your TV? We tried Vision Pro to find out

We kick off our a multi-part Vision Pro review by testing it for entertainment.

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[Kendall Helmstetter Gelner]

You are not getting even one single theatrical version Lord of Rings movie in a sitting: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (178 minutes), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (179 minutes), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (200 minutes). Then we have the proper extended editions that run much longer. In a single sitting, it might allow Villeneuve's Dune 1 (155 minutes) and not Dune 2 (166 minutes). Likewise, Cameron's Avatar (162 minutes) and Avatar: The Way of Water (192 minutes) which should be impressive in that VR environment. No, I don't want forced movie intermissions anymore.

Paying 6x the price of Quest 3 with the same battery life is just sad.

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...

 

[Kendall Helmstetter Gelner]

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.

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.