Apple Vision Pro: The Future Today
After my Apple Vision Pro demo this morning, I feel like the future is now.
This was the single greatest piece of technology I have ever experienced, and it isn’t particularly close. Now that being said, I have not tried many VR/AR products outside of the Meta Quest 1, and while Apple will not call the Vision Pro a virtual reality headset (they prefer “spatial computer”), it was leaps and bounds above any virtual reality I have experienced. When first putting on the headset, the thing that stands out the most is the screen clarity. Or to be more specific, just clarity, as it doesn’t even feel as if you are looking at a screen. Rather it feels like you are looking through a pair of ski goggles, as some of your peripheral vision is obscured, but other than that, the world looks perfectly clear. There is no perceived lag between the video feed you are seeing and real world events, as I was able to toss my phone in my hand and catch it, with the physical sensation in my hand being imperceivable from what I was seeing through the Vision Pro’s screen. I have no clue what witchcraft Apple did to have the Vision Pro render video as fast as it does, but by god is it impressive.
After I calmed myself down and got settled in, the demo started with some eye tracking calibration, as I looked and clicked on various dots around the screen. It was immediately noticeable how great the eye tracking was, as I was flying through the selecting process, only missing one or two clicks as my hand would drift beneath the table I was sitting at. But after the tracking setup was complete, the Vision OS home screen appeared and had a familiar feel to all of Apple’s operating systems. We started with exploring the camera roll, where I experienced some 3D photos and videos, which while neat, didn’t seem all that important to me as the “immersion” didn’t make me feel like I was reliving the experience despite what the technician leading the demo was saying. What did impress me was viewing panoramic images, as you can click a setting for the image to span almost all the way around you and then it does feel as if you are inside the photo. And more importantly, I was informed this can be done with any panoramic photo, not a specifically taken one on a new iPhone.
Once the photo portion of the demo was complete, we moved into the fully immersive Mount Hood environment where your real world surroundings are completely blocked out. This worked very well and I was able to experience the physical pass through of the technician speaking to me, with her face appearing in what looked like a cloud of smoke since she was talking to me. That was a bit creepy but easily ignorable after a few seconds. While in this setting, we opened a safari page and scrolled around an article with a simple flick of the wrist and moved the photos app behind my right shoulder. Then, because I asked about games during the setup process, we opened a game where you use your eyes to aim and click to shoot balls at oncoming glass objects, hoping to break the objects before they hit you. I had the game front and center, my safari browser to the left, and camera roll to the right, all while inside the fully rendered Mount Hood environment. Not once did I notice any slowness to the Vision Pro, as I was able to easily game while having multiple applications open and running. I was stunned by how effortless everything felt despite what I can only imagine is a heavy load on the computer. This was easily the most impressive moment for me, as I can only imagine how productive one can be with multiple screens open and working without any slowness from the computer.
The final part of my demo involved opening the Apple TV+ app to experience some immersive video prepared for the demo. It was filmed with a high quality camera and it certainly came through the screen looking as crisp as anything I’ve ever seen outside of an IMAX film. Closeups of peoples faces and animals looked perfect, and felt like you could see the pores on their faces. It was breathtakingly crisp footage, and as someone who consumes a lot of film and TV, I instantly imagined watching my favorite movies in my living room, looking at a screen I could make as large as I want and the quality would be the best I’ve ever had in my house. Barring you having some seriously high end televisions or monitors, the screens in the Vision Pro will be the best in your house. Sadly after twenty minutes or so, my demo came to an end and I had to take off the headset.
Typically I feel some relief when I take my Quest off, as my eyes feel slightly strained and my face runs a bit hot. But when taking the Vision Pro off it felt as if nothing had really changed. And that to me might be the biggest selling point of the entire device. It doesn’t feel like you are looking at a pair of screens attached to your face, it seems as if you are just looking at the real world. My eyes felt perfectly fine, likely a result of the extremely great quality of the screens for each eye, and the headset was still cool to the touch, as the computer had seemingly not been pushed by anything I did. I left the store wishing I was bringing the Vision Pro back with me, but then I remembered the sky high price and didn’t feel as bad (only just a bit though). If you have the money to spare, you will not be disappointed by the Vision Pro one bit. It’s that crazy. But for anyone living on a realistic budget, it simply doesn’t make sense to buy the Vision Pro and should wait until Apple eventually releases a cheaper version sometime in the future. But if you want to experience the future today, go and book yourself a free demo of the Vision Pro at your local Apple store. You won’t be disappointed.
