It's very strange to think that I've already been using the Apple Vision Pro for over a month. Since our initial review of the Vision Pro, there have been some changes to the headphone experience via new apps and software upgrades on Apple's part, as well as some features that I'm surprised I've found myself using more than others.
Let's talk about what you've learned in the past month.
The biggest difference in one month? New applications
The biggest difference in my experience with Vision Pro from the beginning until now is the amount of Vision Pro apps that have been added. I'm asking myself less, “What can I do with this thing?” There are now over 1,000 Vision Pro apps out there, and these are some of the ones I've been using the most.
TikTok for Vision Pro It was designed from the ground up for Vision Pro and lets you browse videos that float in front of your vision. Feedback is easy to drag and you can add your own via the headset's floating keyboard.
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♬ Paint the City Red (Instrument) – Doga Cat
Split screen The Vision Pro is probably my favorite app yet because it answers one of my biggest complaints about using my Mac inside a headset. This app gives you a second desktop to go along with Apple's Virtual Display feature so you can do some serious multitasking. The only problem is that the external desktop is 1080p and not 4K like Apple's devices.
Black Box Vision Pro It is a very cool game because it allows you to solve puzzles by solving puzzles and picking up objects in front of you. The game itself isn't as addictive as other games I've tried, but it shows what's possible with different gestures. I can see myself swinging a lightsaber in Vision Pro and doing force pushes, for example. Disney, get it.
Preferred use case?
My favorite thing to do with the Vision Pro is watching shows and movies, including 3D movies. While it's great that Apple's Immersive Video format literally puts you in the room with Alicia Keys or on top of a mountain with an adventurer, 3D movies are now available.
Apple has more than 150 3D movies you can watch through Apple TV+, from Dune and Avatar to Super Mario Brothers. The Disney Plus app has nearly 50 3D movies of its own. I binge-watched Avengers: Infinity War, and I can argue the level of depth surpasses that of movie theaters, especially in the big action scenes.
Even if you're not a fan of 3D, you'll enjoy watching shows and movies through Vision Pro. I watched Oppenheimer's film and it looked amazing, while The Last of Us was somehow more immersive as Ellie tried to escape the clutches of an evil preacher with a building burning around him. Needless to say, I needed to take a break after that.
Least favorite use case?
Despite promises that Vision Pro will make you more productive, I don't think this is the change I wanted it to be. I admit, it's cool to install different windows around your space. And at least when I'm working from home, I find myself busier and more focused when I'm working in Vision Pro with my 14-inch MacBook Pro desktop floating in front of me, Slack on one side, and Apple Music on the other. .
But there are some things that keep taking me out of my comfort zone. First, the Vision Pro is too heavy to be worn for more than an hour or two while sitting. This is even if you switch from the single bar to the more comfortable double bar. I would say this band is a must-have because it balances the weight of the headphone better, but I don't like wearing it because, frankly, it ruins my hair and I have a sensitive scalp.
In fact, I find that after a while I get a sore neck when using the Vision Pro, and I feel some pressure around my eyes. Then there's carrying the Vision Pro back and forth. It adds so much weight to my bag that I have to think twice before bringing the Apple Vision Pro home from work or to the office.
What did I misjudge?
If there's one thing I got wrong about the Vision Pro, it's the battery. Yeah, obviously I hope you don't have to mess with one around. But when using the Vision Pro, you can just put the battery in your pocket while you're standing or place it on the desk next to you when you're sitting and connect it to continuous power. It wasn't as annoying as I thought it would be.
I also misjudged the environments. At first I thought they were just fancy desktops, but they add a level of immersion to the Vision Pro that can literally take you anywhere in the world. It's no substitute for real travel, of course, but I really like it when third-party apps create their own environments, like The Iron Throne room in the Max app and The Avengers Tower in the Disney Plus app.
What is still missing?
In terms of what's missing from the Apple Vision Pro, I'd say the lack of a Netflix app is still a big absence. You can technically access Netflix via Safari, but that's not optimal, and you can't download things to watch when you're not connected to Wi-Fi.
The biggest missing element is Google. No YouTube, no Gmail, no Google Doc, no Google Meet, which are all services I use daily. Yes, I can access these services through the MacBook Virtual Display feature, but I still can't attend meetings through Google Meet using my digital persona.
Speaking of which, it's nice that I can use my character to attend meetings and it's impressive that it can mimic my blinks and smiles, but it's still creepy. I don't know how much this feature will improve once it comes out of beta. How many other people would accept this as a normal video call, especially for business, Shrug
Vision Pro after one month: Bottom line
When I first tried the Vision Pro, I summed it up in a few words: stunning, immersive, and expensive. I stand by those words, but now that I've been using them for a month, I'd like to add three more: entertaining, heavy and a bit lonely.
At $3,500, this is still a tough sell for most people, but I think the Vision Pro is paving its own way in the mixed reality headset category. Not everyone is willing to come on the trip, and that's okay. For me personally, I'm excited to see where Apple and developers take this next when it comes to spatial gaming and also reimagining how we watch sports.
Even if you can't afford one or aren't ready to commit to the world of spatial computing, I don't blame you. But you owe it to yourself to try out the Vision Pro at an Apple Store — or borrow one from a friend — to get a feel for what the future looks like.
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