Apple’s Vision Pro launch: 5 early observations about the $3500 headset

Developer support seems robust

A few days before the retail availability of Vision Pro, there was a belief that Apple had been struggling to garner developer support for its mixed-reality headset. Some speculated that the number of native Vision Pro apps would be under 200, hinting at a muted response from developers. However, a day before the release, Apple issued a press note claiming that the number of native Vision Pro apps exceeded 600, alongside over a million iOS and iPadOS apps. While Netflix and YouTube may not be among them, the list of compatible apps, spanning across entertainment and productivity, is still extensive for a new platform. Some of the big names include Adobe Firefly and Lightroom, Microsoft 365 office apps, and Zoom, among others.

Moreover, the list will grow as many developers have announced their apps on the day of the launch that is scheduled to be released in the coming days. That means the apps and games designed specifically for the spatial computing environment will only increase as Apple widens the availability of Vision Pro to other markets. Just for comparison, Meta’s Quest 3, a $500 mixed-reality headset, is compatible with 500 apps and games. The point isn’t that Apple has managed to outnumber Meta by 100 more native apps, but how it got more than 600 native apps and games at launch for a brand-new platform. Meta, on the other hand, is an old player in the immersive market space with more experience in selling headsets. Keeping that in mind, having 500 compatible apps for Quest 3, which is marketed as a mainstream headset doesn’t seem impressive anymore.

Apple’s new high-tech goggles are impressive but raise a fundamental question: what is the need to wear a face computer? (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

Don’t be a Vision Pro (hole)

When you go through Apple’s marketing material for Vision Pro, it seems to suggest that you would be using the headset for making futuristic FaceTime calls in 3D or using the device as a fancy TV or a productivity device. These are all the real use cases of the Vision Pro, something you can try and test right now. However, there is another side to it, a wild one over which Apple has no control, but unfortunately, it’s already happening. Since the headset went on sale and got into the hands of people, there have been cases where a user was seen wearing the while driving a Tesla Model Y, leading to being pulled over by a cop. In another viral video, a man can be seen wearing the headset looking at a world with a useful digital layer superimposed upon while crossing the road in San Jose. That reminds us of “glassholes,” a term given to early adopters of the now-defunct Google Glass who were publicly mocked for filming someone without their consent using the device’s built-in camera. The once cutting-edge wearable computer has turned into a device fraught with privacy concerns that have led to it being banned in certain public locations. This could be a glaring problem, a new type of challenge that Apple has to address no matter whether it likes it or not.

https://youtube.com/shorts/1c6Z0An4ErE?si=Oy3KV7MWt783ZQf1

CEO Tim Cook may be repeatedly calling the Vision Pro a new era of “spatial computing,” but it also comes with its own challenges that once again bring back the conversation that led to the lack of social acceptability of face computers. Apple doesn’t show the headset being used outside in its marketing materials, which is funny, despite having excellent real-time passthrough video capabilities. But there is no guarantee that a simple warning on Apple’s website on the use of the headset will change people’s minds. Apple is not completely at fault; it is the concept of face computers that is a little tricky and thus raises practical questions about a headset like the Vision Pro meant for face computing. By default, Vision Pro has multiple cameras, and when used, the headset can offer fully immersive virtual reality, but it also does augmented reality. While the Vision Pro turns the world into a giant screen, Apple can’t dodge questions as to where it leads us. Clearly, Apple has no answer to this question.

Apple pitches the Vision Pro as the beginning of an era of “spatial computing,” where digital data blends with the physical world. (Image credit: Apple)

Watching a movie can be a lonely experience

Whether you admit it or not, the Vision Pro is a TV, and only Apple can pull it off. It’s not a traditional TV in the sense, but a TV that encapsulates the ideas of immersive content and new formats. Those who have tried the Vision Pro say that movies in 3D look as good as they did in the theater. Apple, too, is promoting the headset as an entertainment device with a major focus on turning Vision Pro into a giant TV. But there’s a catch. Vision Pro may be a fantastic way to watch TV, something surreal that can’t be replicated with existing TVs, but the truth is nobody knows what you are looking at through a screen. This is not how we consume a movie either at home or in a theater. After all, watching TV on a big screen has always been a shared experience. If this is the future Apple envisions for TV consumption, then it’s a lonely one. Maybe Apple never wanted Vision Pro to be like this, and while the headset does let you jump into the “real world,” the reality is Cupertino also pushes for a device that is extremely “personal” yet “isolating.”

The Vision Pro is essentially a TV. (Image credit: Apple)

It’s heavy

That slick video of a person wearing the Vision Pro and doing all sorts of things may seem impressive, but Apple never tells you whether you could wear the headset all day and use it as an everyday work machine. No doubt about it: Apple’s Vision Pro is loaded with tech; two 4K micro-OLED screens are incredibly sharp, the passthrough video feed looks great and has little latency, and the hand-eye control interface is also impressive. But, no matter how cool Apple’s demo videos are, the headset did get a little heavy on your face after a while. The Vision Pro weighs 21.2 to 22.9 ounces (or 600 – 650 grams) depending on the Light Seal and headband configuration. That’s about the size of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Apple did confirm the headset is heavy, but there was no way to make it lighter. In a Vanity Fair interview, Richard Howarth, Apple’s vice president of industrial design, told the publication, “There’s nothing we could have done to make it lighter or smaller.” There’s a lot of aluminum, glass, and components in there – it’s essentially a heavy-duty computer strapped onto your face. This is the struggle with face computers – how do you make them feel lighter and smaller? The initial few minutes of wearing a headset could “wow” people, but they quickly get tired of wearing a computer on their faces. This is another unanswered question.

Apple showed the headset last year for the first time, its first major new release since the Apple Watch in 2015. (Image credit: Apple)

Battery life

Perhaps the immediate problem is how to match face computers with smartphones and laptops in things they are already good at. A case in point is Vision Pro’s battery life, which can’t be compared to that of a smartphone. The headset ships with a separate battery pack – which not only looks bulky and also a little weird but still lasts only up to 2.5 hours. In its defense, Apple may say it went with this approach to remove as much weight as possible from your head. However, the reality is that a battery pack that appears to be about the size (roughly weighs 353 grams) of an iPhone is a compromise. This also means that even though technically the Vision Pro is as good as a Mac because the headset’s battery barely exceeds 2.5 hours, there’s a limitation on how long you can use the device. You can buy another battery pack and increase both usage and battery life and get the work done but that workaround costs another $199 in addition to the $3500 Apple is charging for Vision Pro.