Hey folks, I’d love to hear from anyone who owns the Vision Pro. What the use case and what’s the experience like?
I’ll bite. I own one, and I use it regularly. But many people would find my use cases narrow.
1. Vision Pro + MacBook + mouse is the best hotel-room computing experience I know. I spend a surprisingly large amount of time editing LaTeX files in hotel rooms. And my myopic, astigmatic, presbyopic eyes aren’t great for laptop screens even with glasses. Having a giant screen that’s all in focus is a great advantage. Hanging web pages and pdfs in the air for reference is really nice, too.
(The MacBook isn’t required; the Vision Pro can run the LaTeX environment. But I’d still need a keyboard, and I’m traveling with the MacBook anyway. Weirdly, an iPad with a keyboard won’t do.)
2. Vision Pro + AirPods Pro provides the best entertainment for a long flight. It’s not worth the trouble during the part where the flight attendants are fussing with you; an iPad is better then. But once things calm down, it’s excellent. The video experience isn’t as good as my home theater, but the Vision Pro was cheaper, and it’s not that much worse. The Airpods Pro provide good audio, but can’t eliminate all the plane noise. (In a private, quiet environment, the built-in speakers are strikingly good.)
People ask about the weight. The weight is real, and will wear on me if I sit upright or stand. It’s not a problem if I recline my seat.
3. For certain Mac games, Vision Pro + MacBook in a recliner is excellent. I’ve played day-long sessions of Factorio that way. It’s probably like having one of those scorpion gaming chairs, except I can use the chair for other things when I’m not gaming.
(If I take the headset off, I’ll have to take a minute to adjust everything when you put it back on. I can get up and get a drink or something while wearing it, but carrying the battery is awkward. And it complains when I walk through a doorway: “You’re too close to an object!”)
4. If I have back trouble, lying flat on the floor with Safari or a video app on the ceiling is excellent. It makes me wonder why so many screens in my life are vertical or tilted upward.
5. The environments are relaxing, to the point of being soporific. At least until I start feeling like I should be wearing protective equipment suitable for the desert/snowy field/mountain peak/lunar plain. The beach on Bali is comfortable.
Things I’ve learned:
Avoiding eye strain is all about getting the fit right. Plan to spend five to ten seconds adjusting it carefully every time you put it on. (After it’s done authenticating and complaining about the fit, that is; the software is annoyingly chatty when you’ve just put it on.)
Apple’s carrying case is ridiculous. But the device comes with a front cover and some curved heavy cardboard. With a little trimming, the cardboard will fit under the eye cushion, protecting the lenses. That’s enough for me to feel ok about putting it in a carry-on bag. It’s still much more awkwardly shaped than an iPad.
When traveling, the eye and hand adjustments will get out of whack. Go to the control panel to readjust them. Don’t forget the interpupilary distance adjustment. (Typing your password before you can adjust things is very frustrating. I hope they fix that soon.)
Software specifically for the Vision Pro is in its infancy. It reminds me of the early days of the iPhone. Lots of demo-ware, but few well-designed, useful apps. The design language isn’t well developed either. Habits from devices with limited screens don’t carry over well. (Why do panels open inward from the sides of a document, covering up my content? They could just as easily open outward into empty space.) Safari and the video players work well.
Likewise the immersive video. It’s very, very impressive, but there’s not much of it yet.
Finally, I’ve come to realize that the principal problems of the iPad come from it having limited size and no ability to levitate. The Vision Pro essentially gives you unlimited giant levitating iPads, plus one Mac screen. That may not sound like much, but it is very nice.
