Apple Vision Pro: Intriguing, interesting, but not there yet

Although the headset does its magic atop Apple's new visionOS operating system, the Vision Pro is compatible with apps for iPads and iPhones and those native to visionOS, which should bolster users with a familiar and competent experience. 

Like other Apple products, the Vision Pro slots seamlessly into Apple's impressively integrated ecosystem. It can even perform as an external display for MacBooks, a feature that got me quite enthusiastic about. 

A fairly decent lineup of accessories headlined by two straps— a functional dual-band strap and the other a stylish solo loop— attempt to alleviate users from the guilt of dishing out $3,499, along with Apple's infamous cleaning cloth. 

A partnership with Zeiss ensures that individuals with not-so-ideal vision enjoy the Vision Pro by clicking on custom Zeiss lens inserts. Speakers housed within the headset do a decent job of rendering sound in 3D space (spatial audio in Apple-speak) and stay silent should you prefer your audio through any Bluetooth headphones you choose. 

But not all is rosy. 

While the Vision Pro received accolades for its entertainment capabilities, CNBC's Todd Haselton highlighted a significant drawback – the app gap. Despite supporting over a million iPhone and iPad apps, mainstays like Netflix, Spotify, and even YouTube have prevented their apps from running on visionOS. None of Google's apps were present either. 

However, given the open nature of the internet, these can all be accessed via a web browser. Perhaps now is when Apple releases this open nature to be a boon for all and opens up its ecosystem for real, scrapping unwanted fees for its upcoming third-party app marketplace program. Or is that too much to ask for?  

The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Sternfound the Vision Pro surprisingly effective for work-related tasks, transforming the device into a virtual workstation. Apple has done a fantastic job with hand-and-eye tracking. However, over time, the headset's weight became a notable concern, making it seem like an "iPad strapped to your face." 

Apple's deliberate choice to power the Vision Pro off an external battery source has little benefit. While it contributes to weight savings by moving the weight of its deceptively heavy-looking 3,166 mAh (milliampere-hour)battery to your waist or a table next to you, users are now more likely to feel the headset dig into their noses, with the lack of balancing counterweight.

A rather disappointing battery life of around 2.5 hours restricts you from being around an outlet. Given its external nature, a bigger battery could address this concern. 

While the prospect of the headset spinning up multiple displays for your Mac gives fleeting visions of what I call heaven, scaling complications mean all you get is a single Mac display in visionOS.

Peering through the hype veil

But the biggest issue with the Vision Pro is that the passthrough, regardless of being the best, is powered off cameras. And camera lenses are just not as good as the human eye. 

Quick movements of the head reveal motion blur that results in strange warping of straight lines, and any dip in natural light brings in noise, which the Vision Pro attempts to counter by applying noise reduction at the cost of blurry visuals.

Despite 23 million pixels and a 92 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, the Vision Pro can still "only show you 49 percent of the colors your eyes can actually see," Nilaynoted. Apple's Personas— digital avatars to represent the user over video calls— turned out to be strange and uncanny. 

The Vision Pro is an exciting product primarily hampered by a lack of apps and the nature of cameras. Perhaps the transparent display tech showcased at CES 2024 has a future in VR headsets. 

But until then, the Vision Pro is a niche product for early adopters and tech enthusiasts, one with a darn good display, all for yourself.