Two months after I started using Apple Vision Pro, it hasn’t changed the way I live my life. It doesn’t replace my TV, nor does it make me want to give up my powerful desktop or slim laptop.It’s just another tool in my arsenal of gadgets – one I can use to catch up X-Men ’97 In bed, or when I’m away from the office to help me delve deeper. The Vision Pro became ordinary so quickly, it’s almost easy to forget how groundbreaking it actually was. The screen is still absolutely stunning, and the combination of eye tracking and Apple gesture controls makes for the most intuitive AR/VR interface I’ve ever seen.
While the Vision Pro still isn’t something most people should consider buying, Apple has thrown out some advice to early adopters.More games are coming to the App Store and Arcade every week, and there are some 3D movies Available to Apple TV+ subscribers. The addition of a spatial role also goes a long way toward making Vision Pro more of a remote presentation machine (more on that below). But we’re still waiting for the company to deliver on its promise of 180-degree immersive videos and let users create higher-quality spatial videos on iPhone.
How I use Apple Vision Pro
Once the stress of reviewing every aspect of Vision Pro was over, I started integrating it into my life like a typical user. (Full disclosure: I returned the device I originally purchased, but Apple sent samples for further testing.) Most of the time, this means not forcing yourself to use the headphones for most of the day. Instead, my Vision Pro time is more purposeful: I put it on in the morning and project my MacBook screen to clear emails and continue Slack conversations while YouTube videos are actually projected on my wall.
I use a mindfulness app to do a five to ten minute meditation session while at work, or sometimes before heading into a busy work day. I can meditate easily without any headgear, but I find the app’s calming narrative and the immersive environment it creates (since it completely blocks out the real world) to be very helpful. It’s like having your own yoga teacher, ready to help calm your brain whenever you have some free time.
I’ve also learned to appreciate Vision Pro as a way to expand the scope of what I can do. As someone who has worked primarily from home since 2009, I learned early on that changing where you work is a simple way to stay focused. For example, I try not to write in the same place I check my email in the morning. I usually switch between a PC desktop and a large monitor (currently a 32-inch 4K OLED from Alienware) at the office and a MacBook Air or Pro for writing at home. Sometimes, when I need a few hours to focus on a writing task, I go to a nearby park or coffee shop.
With the Vision Pro, I can actually do some serious multitasking on the deck or in the kitchen without having to rely on a desktop computer. I find this useful for reporting on events without being stuck in my basement office (where I can watch the video stream on a virtual window and have Slack and a web browser open on my projected MacBook). I’ve been using the Vision Pro to handle conference calls when I’m sick in bed because it feels more comfortable than staring down at my laptop’s small monitor.
I haven’t traveled with the headphones much yet, but I can see them coming in handy the next time I go on a weekend trip with my family. tested Chen Delin Told me he used the Vision Pro on a long flight and it made the time disappear quickly. I’m still working on that – I’d much rather use a small laptop and headphones on the plane, but I can imagine how great it would be to watch a big-screen movie on the Vision Pro while everyone else is staring at their tablets or cramped seats – Return to display.
Vision Pro remains a great way to watch movies or TV shows at home. When I’m too tired to go downstairs after putting the kids to bed, I sometimes veggie in bed while projecting YouTube videos or anime on the ceiling.This is where I experienced a psychedelic time shift while watching X-Men ’97: As soon as the remake theme song started playing, I was immediately transported back to watching the original show on a 13-inch TV in my childhood bedroom.If I could somehow jump back in time bishopstyle, there was no way I could have convinced my 10-year-old self that I would end up watching the sequel series wearing futuristic headphones, projected on a 200-inch window. How far we have come.
Space roles are the dream of remote presentation
When Apple first released the Vision Pro last year, I couldn’t help but be taken aback by its Persona avatar. They look callous and inhumane, exactly how you would imagine a soulless digital clone to look like. The VisionOS 1.1 update makes them less disturbing, but I didn’t really like the avatars until Apple launched Spatial Personas last week. Space characters are no longer limited to windows, but hover in your virtual space, allowing you to collaborate with friends as if they were right next to you.
The concept isn’t entirely new: A few years ago, I tested Microsoft Mesh using a HoloLens 2 headset, which also brought digital avatars into my home office. But they look more like basic Miis on the Nintendo Wii than anything realistic. Meta’s Horizon Workrooms does something similar in a completely virtual space, but it’s not as impressive as digital collaboration on a real-world view.
Apple’s Space characters are more compelling than Microsoft and Meta’s efforts because they can be set up seamlessly—you just turn on Space mode during a FaceTime chat—and they feel effortlessly organic.During Spatial Persona call with Norm Tested, we were talking as if he were sitting right in front of me in my home theater. We were able to easily draw and write together in the Freeform app – when I stood up and reached out to draw on the drawing board, it was almost as if we were standing side by side in front of a real whiteboard.
Share the game with space characters
We can also customize our viewing experience when watching some content StarCraft III: Beyond the Stars Use SharePlay in Vision Pro together. Norm chose to watch 2D and I watched 3D, and our progress was synchronized. The experience was more engaging than a typical SharePlay experience because I could lean in and chat with him instead of typing or saying something over FaceTime. I also couldn’t help but imagine how easy it would be to record a movie review for a podcast using space characters. (In addition to Vision Pro, we had to use separate microphones and computers, but this was more comfortable than watching movies on a monitor or TV.)
Unfortunately, our attempts to play the game together failed because we were running slightly different versions gaming room. We also didn’t have enough time during the meeting to sync our apps. I was finally able to try Chess and Battleship with other Vision Pro-equipped friends, and again it felt like they were actually playing right next to me. (standard and CNET’s Scott Stein also looks like he’s playing virtual chess. )
Of course, the main hurdle for Spatial Personas is that they require $3,500 headphones. Apple is laying the foundation for a truly great remote presence experience, but for most people, that won’t matter until they can actually afford the Vision Pro or the cheaper Apple headphones.
Through Horizon Workrooms, Meta allows non-VR users to join virtual meetings using Messenger on their phones and computers so they are not left out. Standard FaceTime users can also join a Vision Pro chat with a space character, but they will be stuck in the window. Unlike Meta’s products, regular users won’t be able to see any virtual environments (although you can still collaborate on certain applications like FreeForm). Meta’s big advantage over Apple is capacity: Horizon Workrooms supports up to 16 people in VR, and 34 people calling in from other devices. Space character chat, on the other hand, is limited to five participants.
Immersive videos lack momentum
When I previewed Vision Pro last year, Apple’s 180-degree immersive movie format was one of its most impressive aspects, and some of the experiences at launch were quite compelling. But immersive cinematics have been lackluster since launch — the only new experience was a five-minute clip showing off the 2023 MLS playoffs, which was largely disappointing.
While the resolution and depth of the short clip was excellent and made me feel like I was actually on the pitch, the MLS experience was disorienting because it was edited so frequently and had no sense of rhythm. Once you settle into a scene, perhaps watching someone prepare for a proper target, the camera view changes and you have no idea where you are. It’s almost like a five-minute lesson on what not to do with immersive video. Wish MLS had longer experience on the job.
I don’t expect a tsunami of immersive video content, as the Vision Pro is still an extremely expensive device for developers and professionals, but it would be nice to see more push from Apple. The company plans to release another six-minute episode of “Prehistoric Planet” later this month, but that’s nothing. Where are the creators taking immersive video to the next level? While the content may be difficult to process because it’s shot in 3D and 8K, the format could be the perfect way for Apple to promote the benefits of its new silicon.
Instead of watching more immersive videos, I’m spending more time re-watching space videos shot with the iPhone 15 Pro. They still look more realistic than 2D clips, but I increasingly dislike the limitations of 1080p/30fps. It’s hard to accept this resolution when I know my phone can also produce crisp 4K and 60fps footage. The $3 app Spatialify helps by unlocking 1080p/60fps and 4k/30fps spatial video capture, but its footage is also more wonky and buggy than the iPhone’s built-in camera. At this point, I’d consider using Spatialify if my phone was mounted on a tripod or gimbal, but otherwise I’d stick with the native camera app.
What’s next for Apple Vision Pro
We’ll probably have to wait until Apple’s WWDC 24 event in June to hear about any more major upgrades to Vision Pro or VisionOS. That’s fitting, since last year’s WWDC was the headset’s debut (and a hell of a day for us trying to cover all the news). Now that the hardware is in the works, Apple must convince developers that it’s worth building Vision Pro apps outside of their usual iOS, iPadOS and macOS products. After all, it’s not just some mythical spatial computing platform anymore.
