Ultrawide Virtual Display: Your Impressions [MERGED]

[robgreene]

Downloaded the Vision OS 2.2 beta last night. The Wide and Ultrawide Virtual Display features have been implemented flawlessly.

For context: Virtual Display has been my #1 use case for the Vision Pro since buying at launch. I edit photos, and enjoy being able to do so in a coffee shop or on an airplane while safeguarding my clients' privacy. I also find that, in addition to eliminating glare, the Vision Pro provides better color accuracy than a MacBook Pro display in sunny environments.

Expanding the Virtual Display to Wide adds much-needed canvas size when editing photos, while Ultrawide darn near fills the entire display, increasing multitasking opportunities.

The Verdict? To whatever degree you use Virtual Display on your Vision Pro, the 2.2 update will be a significant update to your workflow!

 

[shenfrey]

How often would you say you use your Vision Pro? I just purchased one from Apple and so far I’m quite enjoying it, even for basic tasks such a web browsing and media consumption.

 

[mpetrides]

Up until Vision OS 2.2 Beta became available, my Vision Pro was a marvel of technology that I used exclusively for viewing immersive 3D content and playing the occasional game. That all changed with the advent of the Ultrawide Mac Virtual Display.

Whereas previous versions of the Mac Virtual Display worked, they really did nothing to improve on the experience of working on my 16 inch MacBook Pro and, as such, the Virtual Display was a novelty but not something I used for work. Now, almost all the time I spend using the AVP is spent doing work. The ability to see all the windows I need at once, side-by-side, without having to incessantly shuffle windows is a game changer for me. Add to that the fact that the Virtual Environments on the AVP allow me to insulate myself from distractions and I'm now finding the the combination of the MBP and the AVP makes for a perfect work environment for me.

How are others faring with using the Ultrawide Mac Virtual Display for work? Are you finding it as useful as I am or are you just "meh"?

 

[subjonas]

The ability to see all the windows I need at once, side-by-side, without having to incessantly shuffle windows is a game changer for me. Add to that the fact that the Virtual Environments on the AVP allow me to insulate myself from distractions and I'm now finding the the combination of the MBP and the AVP makes for a perfect work environment for me.

Exactly the reasons I really want a VP. No more juggling windows and desktop spaces (especially because I often work on the go with limited screens), and take away environmental distractions while I work. But unfortunately for me I can't use Mac Virtual Display for my work because I use a drawing monitor and MVD will turn off the monitor. I'd need it to work in extended display mode.

 

[shenfrey]

Up until Vision OS 2.2 Beta became available, my Vision Pro was a marvel of technology that I used exclusively for viewing immersive 3D content and playing the occasional game. That all changed with the advent of the Ultrawide Mac Virtual Display.

Whereas previous versions of the Mac Virtual Display worked, they really did nothing to improve on the experience of working on my 16 inch MacBook Pro and, as such, the Virtual Display was a novelty but not something I used for work. Now, almost all the time I spend using the AVP is spent doing work. The ability to see all the windows I need at once, side-by-side, without having to incessantly shuffle windows is a game changer for me. Add to that the fact that the Virtual Environments on the AVP allow me to insulate myself from distractions and I'm now finding the the combination of the MBP and the AVP makes for a perfect work environment for me.

How are others faring with using the Ultrawide Mac Virtual Display for work? Are you finding it as useful as I am or are you just "meh"?

Combine that with the fact that you can plug your MacBook in, close the lid and just operate it as normal, means you have yourself the best workspace you can imagine.

 

[mpetrides]

Combine that with the fact that you can plug your MacBook in, close the lid and just operate it as normal, means you have yourself the best workspace you can imagine.

If I close the lid, how am I supposed to type? I’ve tried using the AVP with a Magic Keyboard but the lack of backlighting made it hard to see the keys. I’m a decent touch typist but not THAT good.

 

[shenfrey]

If I close the lid, how am I supposed to type? I’ve tried using the AVP with a Magic Keyboard but the lack of backlighting made it hard to see the keys. I’m a decent touch typist but not THAT good.

You can see your keyboard through the camera, it also breaks through immersion mode, as does the trackpad.

Don’t really have your problem to be honest.

 

[mpetrides]

You can see your keyboard through the camera, it also breaks through immersion mode, as does the trackpad.

Don’t really have your problem to be honest.

Yes, it does. But in my experience, unless the keyboard is backlit, I can't see it very well at all--might be a difference in ambient lighting, I suppose.

I'm still having difficulty seeing the advantage to closing the lid and then needing an external keyboard instead of the MBP's keyboard. What am I missing? Why is this a better arrangement for you than keeping the lid open and simply typing on the MBP's keyboard? (I do use an external Magic Mouse because the work I do requires a lot of mouse input.)

 

[shenfrey]

Yes, it does. But in my experience, unless the keyboard is backlit, I can't see it very well at all--might be a difference in ambient lighting, I suppose.

I'm still having difficulty seeing the advantage to closing the lid and then needing an external keyboard instead of the MBP's keyboard. What am I missing? Why is this a better arrangement for you than keeping the lid open and simply typing on the MBP's keyboard? (I do use an external Magic Mouse because the work I do requires a lot of mouse input.)

More comfortable
Helps with desk space
Don’t have a big black monitor in my view point
Can position trackpad wherever I want instead of right under the keyboard

I mean there’s lots of reasons m8, to each their own.

 

[mpetrides]

More comfortable
Helps with desk space
Don’t have a big black monitor in my view point
Can position trackpad wherever I want instead of right the keyboard

I mean there’s lots of reasons m8, to each their own.

Makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[shenfrey]

Makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

To be honest, after seeing the doom and gloom stories of the Vision Pro recently with Apple being disappointed with the sales and the rumours of Apple going in a different direction with AR Glasses for the iPhone, I'm more concerned right now about the future of owning one of these things and if it's even worth keeping.

 

[mpetrides]

Of course, I also have some concerns. But I intend to keep mine simply because it is such awesome, innovative technology.

Frankly, I suspect that AAPL is not all that disappointed with sales of this PRO headset--they would have had be from another planet to think that a device priced at $3500 (with total cost after accessories and memory upgrades likely closer to $4000 to $500) would be anything but a niche product in today's world. Yes, we early adopters are funding AAPL's R & D but I'm OK with that, so long as they don't abandon the product completely. If the articles I've read about Tim Cook's attitude about the AVP, I'm inclined to believe that AAPL is in it for the long haul when it comes to AVP. But I've been fooled before.... Time will tell. In the meantime, I'm just going to enjoy using my AVP for both work and pleasure.

 

[SunMac]

I have been using the widescreen mode and been loving it. it gives me so much more screen area. The ultra wide might be good for certain uses for me but I don't like having to turn my head to see the whole screen lol

 

[mpetrides]

I have been using the widescreen mode and been loving it. it gives me so much more screen area. The ultra wide might be good for certain uses for me but I don't like having to turn my head to see the whole screen lol

Good point! I guess I'm not often using the full width of the screen, now that you mention it. I might have some little-used reference material off to the far right side, but most of what I'm looking at is directly in front of me or slightly off to either side. Maybe the widescreen would suffice for most of my uses.

 

[SunMac]

Good point! I guess I'm not often using the full width of the screen, now that you mention it. I might have some little-used reference material off to the far right side, but most of what I'm looking at is directly in front of me or slightly off to either side. Maybe the widescreen would suffice for most of my uses.

Yeah I know what you mean. Like I could have a music player off to the side because I don't need to constantly need to be looking at the music player but every once in a while glance over to change a song or see remaining song time.

 

[damienDevZ]

I find myself currently mainly using the standard screen size on my Vision Pro for screen sharing my Mac. This is likely because my main use is gaming. This can be game emulation (Switch emulator playing Metroid Prime Remaster) or even the native Mac game called Death Stranding. Currently playing Death Stranding on my Mac mini Pro at the highest settings at 1440p and then streaming the screen to the Vision Pro as a massive screen. The fidelity is amazing and the AirPlay removes all latency so it feels like the game is playing on the device, which is something that can’t be said when streaming PlayStation or cloud gaming to the Vision.

I usually only put it onto wide screen when I’m doing something productive, for instance opening up Apple numbers maybe with the Mail behind as well to input my banking transactions or what not and do other basic productivity work.

The ultra wide I have used a few times. It’s great for having just a bunch of windows open at once instead of having to minimize or move windows around. I tried it once with gaming, but it was kind of disorienting because you can’t see the edge of each side of the screen at once it was really fun and wild but difficult to game like that.

All in all the Vision Pro is something I use every single day and have been for months now as my main screen for everything even when I’m streaming games from my iPhone to Vision when I want to play with a big screen. This can be games like Zenless Zone Zero where I have my phone docked into a controller and then just AirPlay the screen to my Vision and instead of looking at a small 7 inch screen. I have a blown up to 100 inch screen in front of me.

 

[Nathan King]

I am pleasantly surprised. Text also seems slightly sharper. I primarily use my Vision Pro for productivity, so this is a huge improvement.

 

[shenfrey]

Does anyone know when this update is shipping?

 

[mpetrides]

Does anyone know when this update is shipping?

If you mean the release version of Vision OS 2.2, I believe it's been said it will release at the same time as iOS 18.2, namely "sometime in December." I haven't heard any more definite timeframe. Has anyone else?