We imagine most people will opt for the Dual Loop band, though, which straps on over and behind the head like an N95 for a comfier, more balanced fit. The only downside to it is that it’s slightly less secure, with only a velcro band to adjust the sizing. It’s comfortable for about the first 10 minutes, but like my regular glasses, I found I constantly needed to adjust the headset on my face. After about 25 minutes, I felt like I had done a full neck workout. Since a big part of the VR experience will be screening 3D movies, I couldn’t help but wonder how most users will tolerate the weight of the headset for a full hour (let alone a three-hour long Avatar screening).
Need a Charge, Bro?
The Vision Pro’s battery life also sputters out after only two hours before you have to reconnect it to an outlet. That might be par for the course, since its competitor Meta Quest 3 has a similar two-hour run time, but pretty limiting if you’re doing anything that requires moving beyond your outlet or laptop. Still, if you’re using this for work (more on that below) and staying stationary, you could just remain plugged in without much disruption, since it charges up via USB-C and can connect to your laptop directly.
The battery pack dangles from a cord off the headset, which is mostly not a big deal but still a little clunky for an Apple product. To keep it out of the way, I popped it in my pocket, with only a few instances where the wire wrapped itself around my arm and disrupted my movements.
The Verdict
Even in the short amount of time I spent with the Apple Vision Pro, a quick dip into VR land was a genuine delight. For the WFH crowd especially, there are a lot of perks to look forward to, but it still remains to be seen how this will feasibly work in a real office setup. Hopefully the brand can make the headset more comfortable to wear on the inevitable next generation of the Vision Pros, too.
If you’re wondering whether to spring for two monitors or just a fully loaded VR one for a whopping $3,499 (i.e. the price of two MacBooks), the answer is probably just to buy the damn monitors. The novelty of using a spatial computer like this will probably wear off quickly but that’s not to discredit how much fun it is to use, at least if you can tolerate the weight of the headset. And in an era of stupid tech, the Vision Pro at least makes it feel like we’re heading in the right direction with our VR technology.
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