Apple Vision Pro is amazing. And I returned it. (MERGED)

[MarkNewton2023]

Right off the bat, the most fascinating part of the Apple Vision Pro is how little (not at all) the early reviewers, - uh... "reviewers" mentioned its biggest flaw, which is - its phenomenal screens. These screens are amazing. But... but the issues, oh the issues.

1.) The screen glare. This is, as far as I'm aware, down to the type of lenses in the AVP, but the internal glare is absolutely horrendous. Every time you start an Apple Original, you get the glare right in your face with the Apple TV logo. Open up the prehistoric demo (which, by the way, really is incredible), and the opening credits glare right in your face - like a hall of mirrors of glare, right after the Apple TV logo glares in your face. It's worse than the Quest 3, which was already pretty bad with its pancake lenses. But you can forgive this kind of thing at $499 + tax. You can't forgive it at $3499 + tax. I put the AVP into Guest Mode, handed it to my wife (without my Zeiss lenses in), and her first complaint was about glare she noticed within 5 seconds, and the next complaint was about blurriness (the smearing) when moving her head. That pretty much sealed the deal (she had a good time demoing it, but would never keep it). I can't overstate how bad the glare is. It annoyed me while trying to watch part of a movie (which truly is a treat aside from the glare, and as long as you don't move your head much - see point 3.)

2.) The stock head band is a joke. It's there to look pretty in marketing material, but everyone knows the dual loop is much more supportive of the AVP's weight. Nobody looks at the dual loop and sees sexiness, though, but Apple knew they had to include it in the box. Sure, if you have hair (I don't), it's not great, but then quite frankly if you have hair you're pretty much doomed to either squish it or use the stock band and experience a squished face due to lack of top-of-head support.

3.) The smearing. I honestly have no idea why it's as bad as it is, but the smearing is horrific. You turn your head left and right and everything smears, whether in mixed reality or full on VR. What's most interesting is that the OLED panels are wonderfully responsive. If you drag a web page up and down without moving your head at all, it's all super sharp and readable - fantastic. This is perfect. If you move your head up and down, though? Yikes. As I have a Quest 3 right here with me, it's easy to go back and forth between the two, and the Quest 3 does not have any of this smearing.

4.) Color fringing. Yep, it's definitely there, especially obvious toward the edge of the frame.

5.) Low field of view. I don't have numbers, but it's obviously less than Quest 3, and you feel like you're really wearing a scuba mask. Note that none of the promotional materials show any of this field of view or color fringing.

6.) Speakers are leagues better than the Quest 3 ones, which shouldn't come as any surprise. Everyone seems to praise the Quest 3 speakers, but I've never understood the praise. They're serviceable, and that's about it. The AVP speakers are excellent for what they are, and Spatial Audio is a treat.

7.) Optic ID seems to be pretty broken if you wear Zeiss lenses. I only got it to work by squishing the AVP (with the thin light seal!) against my face while I set it up, and to unlock my AVP I have to squish it against my face every time. Apparently I'm not the only one with this issue.

8.) The battery cord is annoying in that it bunches up really easily, and requires finessing to loosen.

9.) Taking this thing off is such a relief in terms of head freedom. I'd much rather sit in front of my 27" or 32" display and work, than use the AVP.

10.) The whole packaging and setup experience is definitely top tier (minus Optic ID for Zeiss users).

Overall, this really is an incredible kinda-sorta tech demo. The screens, though, ultimately make or break the device, and in this case, due to the lenses and smearing it's an easy return to the store for me. If it didn't glare or smear, I'd almost certainly keep it, and how this made it through testing without someone saying, "WAIT WAIT!" is well beyond my ability to comprehend. There's so much good, though, that I can't wait for the next generation of Vision Pro. Not today, Apple. But perhaps soon. The future is there for the taking.

The positive side of the situation is you tried out the product if it fitted to your lifestyle, instead of depending on anybody reviews and decided it did not work after trying it. Keep calm, rely on ourselves to try a new thing, decide if the new thing works and be happy on the decision.😊 Life is too short to be unhappy on anything 😊

 

[Cape Dave]

This item attempts to solve a problem that does not exist. And introduces numerous additional problems. Have you seen the article about the idiots who drive with this? I rest my case. This item will never darken this head. A total wrong move in the wrong direction by Apple. Further proof that people will buy ANYTHING.

 

[Harry Haller]

You're right to be worried about potential not being taken advantage of.

The iPad and iPadOS are the direct thing to look at -- and it's concerning.

Well over a decade in and folks really aren't doing much differently with their iPads than they were 4-7 years ago.
Things have mostly flat lined.

IPad sales numbers reflect that over the last few years.
My ‘18 12.9 is brilliant hardware held back by iPadOS.
Will update to an M series when Apple ungimps iPadOS.
In the meantime IPad sales will continue to diminish, imo.

 

[aParkerMusic]

False. Search on Twitter. Ask other Vision Pro owners.

Outside, external light does not defy the laws of physics and somehow magically fade into the peripheral

I appreciate your response, but you are absolutely incorrect about the experience with this device. Even with the proper light seal, light in the nose region can be seen prior to boot up and during the setup process, and largely is unnoticed during normal use. I don’t need to find people who own the device; I OWN THE DEVICE. Do you? I know flesh-and-blood people, not randos in X, who own it, and have confirmed. I can actually confirm what I’m saying. Can you?

That being said, yes I’m sure if someone intentionally looks directly down toward their nose, which they would never do unless they’re obsessing over that tiny strip of light, they will see it. But using the device in a normal way, nope, it’s unnoticeable, much like how the “notch” becomes unnoticed (except for people who have an obsession with the notch)

Beyond that, if someone can see THAT MUCH light, it’s a fit problem, which should be corrected, and which I’ve seen corrected when my friend was fitted at the Apple Store.

EDIT: Imagine being “angry” at what I said. It’s just simply factual. You see light above your nose, you set it up, you use it, you don’t notice the light. I will say this though: I’ve seen some incredibly unintelligent people not understand how to deal with the little black fabric that drapes over your nose….could it be that there are an enormous amount of people who don’t realize they’re simply using that wrong? I’ve seen people with it all over the place. How embarrassing for those folks, including those who would defend them by saying the device is defective.

 

[b17777]

Seems like a lot of people could have saved some time and money by demoing this in the store first.
Or never really wanting it in the first place, and now can say "I told you so "

 

[nexx27]

Before you say something doesn’t use “VR as it should” recall that VR, despite already being widely available for years, has not hit critical mass. Apple goes out of its way to not call this a VR headset. People just don’t want to accept that AVP will be something else.

It is really "something else" and I accept that, but the sad part is that by being something completely different there are lot of shortcomings..

It has it's own CPU/GPU inside, which is based on a M2, which already can't run most of current demanding apps or games.. Also it's locked up, can't run as a device on mac, can't run on windows.

Tomorrow, even if AVP suits you for AR/VR capability, you will end up having to unleash another 3.500 USD to buy the gen2 or gen3 just because of it's juice (again M2/16gb already condemned)

It's just as stupid back in the day when people with iMAC's had to throw away a very nice 5K screen because the cpu/gpu are not there...

If you get a pymax VR, even a 499 Quest3, or even both. You'll end up with much broader and better quality VR experience, with a fraction of cost and could keep the device and upgrade your PC/mac years to come and still get value from the devices....

You're right, it's really something else... and considering the price, it's just stupid

 

[turbineseaplane]

It's just as stupid back in the day when people with iMAC's had to throw away a very nice 5K screen because the cpu/gpu are not there...

A friend of mine in town went through the work of buying the kit on AliExpress to turn his old 5K iMac into a standalone 5k display. He's a neat freak and did an amazing job keeping it all in the iMac shell and it looks, frankly, amazing!

It's bonkers that Apple never released a standalone 5k display in that form factor (or thereabouts) much much sooner, once the connection capability made single cable not an issue.

 

[Iskee]

Decent summary. Nope there’s not a lot of immersive content. Apple went to the trouble to push out 3 such videos on its tv service so it’s kind of like a tease. Unless Apple cranks this out, the streaming apps sure won’t. Best bet is safari and YouTube but that’s not happening right now either due to apples inability to make it happen. Apple may even be defending themselves saying they want only high quality content.

Otherwise I’m not sure about your other points. It won’t be better than your tv or monitor quality wise. But this is a headset you can take those screens everywhere. The virtual screens can be bigger.

The apps are lacking. The content is lacking. Even being able to plug into a pc would be great but not happening.

At the very least safari needs to be better with vr content.

This is 1.0. You had to know going in it’s going to have its growing pains. It’s the worst this headset will be. Perhaps some are discovering they don’t want 1.0 at 4-5k of spending.

I was prepared for the general lack of apps and content due to this being a 1.0 device. I was not prepared for the aforementioned comfort, FOV and glare issues. I agree that being able to have a large mobile workspace is awesome, but it doesn’t do you a lot of good when you have to take it off after an hour because your face hurts. What if my work isn’t done?

 

[echo44]

asking for a friend, Can adult movies be played on this device?

 

[nexx27]

A friend of mine in town went through the work of buying the kit on AliExpress to turn his old 5K iMac into a standalone 5k display. He's a neat freak and did an amazing job keeping it all in the iMac shell and it looks, frankly, amazing!

It's bonkers that Apple never released a standalone 5k display in that form factor (or thereabouts) much much sooner, once the connection capability made single cable not an issue.

Yeah, the 5K iMAC display is really amazing to this day and IMO beats all 4k displays when using on a mac.

I know what you mean, I almost went the same route, but in my case I didn't have the iMAC, so I was considering buying the 5K LCD screen and the controller board from aliexpress, but I also needed the IMAC case and I couldn't find it locally for a fair price.

Soon after apple released the Studio Display and I decided to pay a little extra and went that route (to be honest, it costed A LOT extra!! but I'm very satisfied with the display). =)

Bravo for your friend!

 

[turbineseaplane]

know what you mean, I almost went the same route, but in my case I didn't have the iMAC

Same boat for me -- The honest reason I didn't do it is that 27" is too small for me now.

I've gotten used to 32"+ sizes and it's really hard to go back for me

 

[ThailandToo]

I agree that iPads have flat lined, but I think VP may be the solution to my main problem with iPad, which is lack of display space. Yes, there are software limitations holding the iPad back, but even if iPads run full MacOS, the fact that even the bigger iPad Pro is just slightly smaller than a letter-size paper limits what I can do with the device. The VP solves the space problem. Sure, it introduces a whole bunch of other problems, such as comfort while wearing, increased isolation, the glare problem being discussed in this thread, etc. But when I saw Apple's initial presentation on the VP, I thought if this worked, it could be my next iPad. I don't have $4000 to spend on the first gen, but if the price ever comes down, I'll be giving it a try. And if the glare is bad, I'll stick to my TV for watching movies, but I'll be happy if it doesn't bother me while reading and editing texts.

The thing about the glare is, I wouldn’t personally use it for computing. That’s not where it shines at least right now. What it does well is content consumption.

 

[duffman9000]

It is really "something else" and I accept that, but the sad part is that by being something completely different there are lot of shortcomings..

It has it's own CPU/GPU inside, which is based on a M2, which already can't run most of current demanding apps or games.. Also it's locked up, can't run as a device on mac, can't run on windows.

Tomorrow, even if AVP suits you for AR/VR capability, you will end up having to unleash another 3.500 USD to buy the gen2 or gen3 just because of it's juice (again M2/16gb already condemned)

It's just as stupid back in the day when people with iMAC's had to throw away a very nice 5K screen because the cpu/gpu are not there...

If you get a pymax VR, even a 499 Quest3, or even both. You'll end up with much broader and better quality VR experience, with a fraction of cost and could keep the device and upgrade your PC/mac years to come and still get value from the devices....

You're right, it's really something else... and considering the price, it's just stupid

I agree completely with you. Maybe Apple wants to try something different because VR is still a niche product. Nothing has moved the needle from niche to critical mass yet.

 

[ThailandToo]

It is really "something else" and I accept that, but the sad part is that by being something completely different there are lot of shortcomings..

It has it's own CPU/GPU inside, which is based on a M2, which already can't run most of current demanding apps or games.. Also it's locked up, can't run as a device on mac, can't run on windows.

Tomorrow, even if AVP suits you for AR/VR capability, you will end up having to unleash another 3.500 USD to buy the gen2 or gen3 just because of it's juice (again M2/16gb already condemned)

It's just as stupid back in the day when people with iMAC's had to throw away a very nice 5K screen because the cpu/gpu are not there...

If you get a pymax VR, even a 499 Quest3, or even both. You'll end up with much broader and better quality VR experience, with a fraction of cost and could keep the device and upgrade your PC/mac years to come and still get value from the devices....

You're right, it's really something else... and considering the price, it's just stupid

I am quite shocked it doesn’t have an M3 in it. When they introduced it with M2, I figured that was so they didn’t have to bring up M3 as it hadn’t been released yet. Now, it’s all ready outdated and makes me think next year it will come as a very upgraded model comes along and AAPL sees how all of us Beta testers and developers did for them.

 

[notai]

normalizing 3800$ for the newest gadget. I'm guilty. Yeah it sucks in terms of fit, but when it wows it blows you away, like an IMAX theater strapped to your head. "think" I'll keep it even with its flaws.

 

[duffman9000]

normalizing 3800$ for the newest gadget. I'm guilty. Yeah it sucks in terms of fit, but when it wows it blows you away, like an IMAX theater strapped to your head. "think" I'll keep it even with its flaws.

On Reddit people are dramatically improving their fit.

 

[LinkRS]

Very, very slight astigmatism. My wife has no astigmatism. We both see smearing on the Vision Pro when moving our heads around (not when moving content on the screen around), and neither of us see smearing on the Quest 2 or Quest 3. I'd guess this isn't to do with our eye sight.

Just a thought, but the AVP uses foveated rendering. Which means it mimics the way our eyes work normally. Namely when you focus on something, everything else will slightly blur around it. This mimics natural sight, but also allows the AVP to render more efficiently, helping with battery life and heat. Perhaps the blurriness you are seeing is related to that?

 

[notai]

Just a thought, but the AVP uses foveated rendering. Which means it mimics the way our eyes work normally. Namely when you focus on something, everything else will slightly blur around it. This mimics natural sight, but also allows the AVP to render more efficiently, helping with battery life and heat. Perhaps the blurriness you are seeing is related to that?

can attest to this. have amblyopia/lazy eye whatever you call it no real 3D perception supposedly, the vision goggles work just fine. minus the flaws folks are talking about. but hey v1, this is the worst they will ever be.

 

[LinkRS]

Yep. The iPhone replaced my phone immediately. It was unbelievable. It was a phone and more. The Apple Watch replaced my analog watch immediately. It was a watch and more. The Vision Pro doesn’t replace anything without compromise.

Secondly, from my perspective AVP needed to fulfill two important tasks before it can be accepted:

1.) The screens have to be essentially perfect, because my existing monitors/TVs are “perfect.”

2.) It needs to be supremely comfortable, because looking at my screens for hours on end is very comfortable.

AVP did not accomplish either of those things (or the myriad other primary/secondary tasks other will want it to accomplish). I do suspect it will in time, but not this generation.

Not trying to change your mind, but you will find that almost every VR/HR headset has issues for some folks with fit and comfort with default straps. Most VR/AR enthusiasts replace the stock straps with a third-party one fairly soon after purchase. If the comfort were your biggest reason for returning, you might want to consider giving a third-party strap a try. .

 

[LinkRS]

can attest to this. have amblyopia/lazy eye whatever you call it no real 3D perception supposedly, the vision goggles work just fine. minus the flaws folks are talking about. but hey v1, this is the worst they will ever be.

Hi, me too! I had an operation when I was a child to "correct" amblyopia. But because I was already 3, I never developed depth perception. So, I am an avid fan of AR/VR and even 3D movies, as these trick my brain into seeing depth. .

 

[notai]

Hi, me too! I had an operation when I was a child to "correct" amblyopia. But because I was already 3, I never developed depth perception. So, I am an avid fan of AR/VR and even 3D movies, as these trick my brain into seeing depth. .

exactly the same man!

 

[notai]

On Reddit people are dramatically improving their fit.

any links ? I'm just going to try the double loop and see how I go.

 

[notai]

Yep. The iPhone replaced my phone immediately. It was unbelievable. It was a phone and more. The Apple Watch replaced my analog watch immediately. It was a watch and more. The Vision Pro doesn’t replace anything without compromise.

Secondly, from my perspective AVP needed to fulfill two important tasks before it can be accepted:

1.) The screens have to be essentially perfect, because my existing monitors/TVs are “perfect.”

2.) It needs to be supremely comfortable, because looking at my screens for hours on end is very comfortable.

AVP did not accomplish either of those things (or the myriad other primary/secondary tasks other will want it to accomplish). I do suspect it will in time, but not this generation.

agree. and i've never had a product with "flaws" like this that I wouldn't have returned in the past, but i'm still keeping it. thats how good this thing is at its best. will I use it every day, hours on end. absolutely no, not even close!

 

[macman01101]

I appreciate your response, but you are absolutely incorrect about the experience with this device. Even with the proper light seal, light in the nose region can be seen prior to boot up and during the setup process, and largely is unnoticed during normal use. I don’t need to find people who own the device; I OWN THE DEVICE. Do you? I know flesh-and-blood people, not randos in X, who own it, and have confirmed. I can actually confirm what I’m saying. Can you?

That being said, yes I’m sure if someone intentionally looks directly down toward their nose, which they would never do unless they’re obsessing over that tiny strip of light, they will see it. But using the device in a normal way, nope, it’s unnoticeable, much like how the “notch” becomes unnoticed (except for people who have an obsession with the notch)

Beyond that, if someone can see THAT MUCH light, it’s a fit problem, which should be corrected, and which I’ve seen corrected when my friend was fitted at the Apple Store.

I said I had the device. You need to use the meditation app more. I realize it’s very triggering to let the facts get in the way of a strong opinion. The amount of speculation and assumptions you make is hilarious.

I tried two units at the store, did multiple fittings, I own a Vision Pro, and light leaks from the nose and through the sides (and through the mesh) in bright light. It’s less so with the dual band and more so with the solo band.

Multiple Apple Store employees told me other customers all said the same thing and “it’s just the way it is”.

It is the height of ignorance and misleading to anyone considering purchasing a Vision Pro to say that the light fades away after initial boot and the “is largely unnoticed.” That’s your subjective opinion. I believe you that you willingly overlook the light because you’re so excited about the Vision Pro. It makes sense. You saved up a lot and made a big purchase.

But, it’s simply not the case for many, many other people. I am being honest and precise, and I’m trying to help other people who may have a similar concern.

 

[Herbert123]

I had the series zero Apple Watch. Used it everyday for a month. Then every other day. Then every couple days till it ended up in a drawer. I recently got the Apple Watch 8 or something about a year and a half ago and I can’t live without it. The always on all day battery is nice. The fact that I can just bring my watch and my air pods on a walk and stream music is amazing. But the real difference maker was the braided loop. I have poor dexterity so putting on the watch every morning with one hand was a monumental task. Now I just toss it over my wrist and go. Still not sure what my verdict is on the AVP, not going to return it but not sure if it won’t end up gathering dust in a drawer in a month or two. Either way, I am definitely getting the AVP Series 8.

This.

In one word: EFFORTLESS. I've mentioned this right when Apple announced their Vision Pro: it's not an effortless device, nor delivers in a practical sense.

To be accepted mainstream by average users, products/services must be effortless to use, or provide something extraordinary to accommodate a small amount of inconvenience. It shouldn't take much time or effort to actually use.

Current cell phones are utterly effortless in use. So are most laptops, notebooks - less so, but more productive. It balances out. Even desktops work, because: you sit down, turn it on, and start work.

The Vision Pro is (A) leagues away from that realm of effortlessness, and (B) doesn't actually provide anything sufficiently useful or outstanding in return to offset that severe lack of effortlessness. I mean, just that separate 2-hour lasting battery is enough of a drawback for people to denounce it. And that part is not nearly the worst product flaw.

Hence, it is bound to fail and/or not of any practical use. A solution to a problem that never existed. At the very least most early adopters will grow tired of it quickly and their VP will remain unused, collecting dust in a corner. Hoping to make the investment back when it becomes collectible retrotech ;-)

As I said before: wake me up when AR glasses are available that look, feel, and weigh the same as regular cool looking eye wear. Or are available as contact lenses. Only then will/can the AR tech go mainstream. No-one wants to be seen wearing even light ski goggles in public if they can help it. Let alone a still dorky looking awkward potentially painful to wear too heavy VP ski goggle that actually isn't real AR at all and displays a claustrophobic smeary half-hearted implemented in-between display of the real world while peering out into the real world with eerie looking smudgy eyes. And turns your day into a bad hair one.

Nice toy, though. Interesting tech. Next!

See you in the future in a few decades!

...now where did I leave that hoverboard...?