I Didn’t Think I Want Apple Vision Pro

I finally managed to watch the Apple presentation for WWDC 23 and the Apple Vision Pro does look kind of stunning. The price is huge, but what you get from it means the value is also huge. I can’t wait to actually try one out in person and see if it’s as good in augmented reality and virtual reality as it is in the hyped up presentation from WWDC. My imagination has been stimulated and I can picture myself wearing these and interacting with the computer on my head.

I suspect it could be kind of weird going into a room and seeing someone wearing these goggles on their face. Even with the projected picture of the users eyes on the front of the device it’s going to take quite a bit of getting used to. If you use them out in public I expect the general public will think you’re a weirdo. I suppose in time when they get more prevalent it might seem normal. In the same way that people are looking like they’re talking to themselves when using AirPods seems normal to us now. I remember many years ago talking to someone while wearing wired headphones while walking along the street getting a weird look and someone thinking I was talking to them. People do it all the time now and nobody takes any notice.

It seems like we’ll be able to control the device using small hand gestures. We won’t have to be waving our arms around like lunatics or like Tom Cruise using those computers in the movie Minority Report. I’m wondering how accurate this system will be. Is it going to be like Voice Control where sometimes you have to actually use the keyboard to get what you want, now and then. Unless these hand gestures work 100% of the time it could get slightly annoying. Any niggles like this we’ll have to be massively out balanced by the usability, efficiency and enjoyment you get from using Apple Vision Pro.

Apple claim a two hour use time with the attached battery. You could use it all day long if you have it plugged in as well. I’m wondering how it’s going to feel after an hour or two of total immersion into your computer. Is it going to make your eyes feel really tired, will it give you headaches. Other virtual reality headsets have been known to even make people want to vomit due to the excessive movement. I suppose it’s going to depend on each person and I suspect there will be some people who will not be able to use this device at all.

In the presentation they show you could take the screen from your Mac and work with it inside augmented reality. Maybe it also does that for the iPhone or iPad. It works with a keyboard so if you really do need to things then that’s another possibility. Could the Apple Vision Pro take the place of, or even be better than a huge monitor screen. I have two monitors connected to my MacBook Pro and by the looks of it I could get rid of both of those. When you take into account not needing extra monitors might be the price of the device it’s not that excessive. Perhaps all you would need is the Apple Vision Pro and an iPhone and you’d have everything taken care of. I would still need my Mac as some of my applications I like to use often are Mac only.

In the WWDC 23 presentation they showed the Device being used in the home and the office. There weren’t any clips of it being used in the street. The most public usage they showed was someone using it on an aeroplane. That could be absolutely fantastic to use the totally immersive experience and basically time travel your way through a long flight. I expect they’ll be the possibility of extra batteries that you can swap in or add to with MagSafe.

Like I said in the title, I didn’t expect I would want Apple Vision Pro, but after seeing it in action and weighing up at the value you could get from using such a device – I want one! I’d go into the shop and buy one tomorrow. However, it’s going to be a long time before it is available to me. Apple says they’re coming out in early 2024, but it looks like it’s going to be just in the US to start with. It could be more than a year before we see them here in Europe. We’ll have to be patient and that gives me time to save up some money. I can’t wait until I can look like a complete dork wearing Apple Vision Pro.