It’s an incredible personal movie theaterĭeal of the day The Apple Watch Series 8 is nearly half off today Even Siri shines here (that’s not something I say often), adding to the headset’s futuristic appeal by letting me reliably open and close apps with just my voice.īy the time I created my dream workspace with apps like Slack, Discord, Safari, Messages and Music all surrounding me like I was in the Batcave - all without the need for a pricey multi-monitor setup - I felt like I was finally living the future that sci-fi films promised us decades ago. Whereas my Meta Quest 3 can only run up to two apps at a time and often hits me with long load times, the Vision Pro fired up apps in an instant and let me fill my apartment with them without a hint of slowdown. Moving apps around in 3D like they were floating sheets of paper and closing them with a quick pinch started to feel like second nature after a while. Some frustrating hiccups aside, the Vision Pro’s combination of eye and hand tracking is incredibly intuitive: You just look at something to highlight it and pinch your fingers to interact. I loved the fact that I essentially just needed to have my iPhone handy to get logged in after that, all my messages, photos and notes were synced up and ready to be experienced in this wacky new reality. There’s no long setup process, no need to manually map out your space, no cumbersome controllers - you just put the thing on and follow a few basic steps that are very similar to setting up any other new Apple device. I’ve been trying out VR headsets since the OG Oculus Rift back in 2016, and the Vision Pro is far and away the most frictionless, “things just work” experience I’ve ever had with one. So, is the Apple Vision Pro actually worth it - in terms of both money and these potential trade-offs? Here’s what I think after working, playing, watching movies and more or less living in Apple’s long-awaited headset for two weeks. But a high cost is far from the headset’s only caveat, and even serial early adopters with deep pockets will have to consider if they want to deal with occasionally uncooperative software, heavy hardware that gets uncomfortable and the fact that you might not have a great time using it if you live in a household full of people. Somewhere between these moments, I’m constructing 3D puzzles, going stargazing and getting my heart rate up with some rhythm-based gaming, fluidly bouncing from app to app in a way that even the best VR headsets can’t deliver.Īdd all these experiences together and the Vision Pro’s staggering $3,500 price tag starts to become slightly less preposterous.
When I’m done working for the day, I bring my headset to the couch and enter my own personal movie theater that makes my OLED TV look tiny by comparison. All my usual apps are floating in front of me, where I can effortlessly flick them around my office like I’m Tony Stark - and see a whole lot more at once than I can on my monitor. When everything is working right on Apple Vision Pro, it feels like true sci-fi magic. Your CNN account Log in to your CNN account