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Ask HN: Are you still using your Vision Pro?

• g1a55er 2y ago
  Yes! Honestly, I mostly just use it as a really, really fancy iPad. It's great for watching content, like movies and TV shows. Some of the games are also fun too in small doses.
• barapa 2y ago
  Nope
• marvel_boy 2y ago
  Nope
• cjk2 2y ago
  I haven’t bought mine yet because I was waiting for people to ask this question :)
  • eleveriven 2y ago
    What is your decision?
    • cjk2 2y ago
      Well they don't sell them until 12th of July here so I'm going to go and play with one first.
• martinky24 2y ago
  Nope
• deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
• lolinder 2y ago
  Here's a poll for yes/no responses so here we can focus on substantive comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40660397 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40660397
  • deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
• spicyusername 2y ago
  Not the Vision Pro, but I got the latest Facebook device around Christmas time, and it got almost entirely shelved before the end of January. I maybe get it out, for a workout, once a month now. Some of the games were really fun, most notably Walkabout Minigolf and Super Hot VR. Some of the exercise programs were pretty neat, most notably The Thrill of the Fight and Les Mills Body combat. It did not work well as a replacement for either a TV or a computer monitor. The device was just too bulky and inconvenient and the software too clunky. So much easier to just use a laptop, if I want to work / watch on the go. In the end, none of the experiences were compelling enough to keep using it regularly.
  • seanmcdirmid 2y ago
    I still use my Oculus 2 a few times a week (I try for daily, but life doesn't allow it), but just Beat Saber and FitXR. It just replaces going to the the gym though if there is some problem with doing that. I can't imagine using an AVP though, without controllers it really isn't suited to fitness.
    • talldayo 2y ago
      Beat Saber was worth the price of admission alone, at least when you could mod custom songs onto the headset itself. There were also websites that would generate a Beat Saber level for any YouTube video you gave it, which was great for playing along to brand-new releases. It was really such a good game that I'm surprised we haven't seen more stuff like it. Of all the futuristic VR experiences I've tried (even HL: Alyx) Beat Saber was the only one that really felt effortlessly futuristic.
      • everforward 2y ago
        When the Vive first came out, there was a neat VR FPS named Pavlov VR that was pretty fun. It was neat to play an FPS where ducking for cover worked, reloading involved actually having to pull a magazine from your belt and jam it in, you could duck behind something and blind fire over it. It mostly worked very well. The annoyances were around how physically exhausting constantly ducking and weaving was (and sweating into the foam), and getting lost in the moment and nearly sprinting out of the "safety box" into a coffee table.
• th33ngineer 2y ago
  I use it every morning with my keyboard to watch videos, get caught up on emails and messages, and sometimes call friends. I don’t use it quite as much in the evenings when my wife is around since I like to be able to show her what I’m doing, so I’ll use my laptop instead.
  • vaylian 2y ago
    Shared augmented reality is the killer feature that I'm still waiting for. I'm really surprised that Apple didn't have that from the start. We could have things like going through your photo collection together. Or collaborating on a virtual sculpture. Or discussing ideas in front of a virtual blackboard. There are a lot of really cool things you could do with shared augmented reality. Maybe Apple scheduled this feature for a later release? This is something that can probably be done efficiently 100% in software.
    • dontlikeyoueith 2y ago
      > This is something that can probably be done efficiently 100% in software. Doubtful. The data transfer needed between the two devices is not trivial.
      • upon_drumhead 2y ago
        Shared photos is likely very doable, as it's just photo id, physical location, and scale/orientation. Place a picture above the fireplace and both headsets could render it exactly the same and see it. Video would work well, audio might be a little harder to sync exactly correctly. Apps are going to be really really hard.
      • vaylian 2y ago
        It shouldn't be much more complicated than what we currently have with first-person 3D shooters. All devices in an augmented room would have some existing shared data that doesn't need to be transferred. It's only the updates that need to be sent over the network.
      • 2y ago
• forthwall 2y ago
  Yes, but I've been just doing it to distract myself when putting away dishes or folding clothes
• austinkhale 2y ago
  Yeah. I enjoy it for watching movies/shows, especially while flying. I also like to do a couple of hours of work (programming) in a cool environment with immersive music every couple of days. I keep it on my standing desk and when I stand up, I frequently will put it on. I don't recommend it for non developers until there is more content, but it's a really neat dev kit device that shows where the future is headed.
• urda 2y ago
  Yes, big fan of using the native apps in conjunction with the MacBook mirroring makes it a great workspace. After work, it's fantastic for media consumption.
• tsmarsh 2y ago
  Yes, its very much a part of my work setup. It transformed working so that for the first time I have a good working setup everywhere. Its also my preferred place to consume cinema. I have a short throw projector and sound system. I prefer the AVP. The image is so crisp and the 3D is so good, that its better than a decent home movie theater. Its my preferred place to watch F1. Environments genuinely soothe me. Breathe works on this platform, it annoys me on the watch. I would watch every sport and documentary in spatial if the was a thing. The tastes have me excited for the future.
  • drcongo 2y ago
    I'd love to hear more about how you use it for your work set-up. The other things you've mentioned all have me interested in getting one but I've never been able to imagine how I'd use it for work.
    • tomcam 2y ago
      > I'd love to hear more about how you use it for your work set-up. Also very interested
  • moffkalast 2y ago
    With F1 TV does that mean you can just place different streams and screens anywhere? That does sound quite neat in principle. Hell if you had a feed for car positions one could make a virtual model of the track and watch it top down.
    • ThomasBb 2y ago
      Check this concept: https://www.inverse.com/tech/apple-vision-pro-f1-mixed-reality-f1-concept https://www.inverse.com/tech/apple-vision-pro-f1-mixed-reali...
      • moffkalast 2y ago
        Yep, that's exactly the thing.
• rtg4869 2y ago
  Yes. Still my favourite way to watch movies and F1 (via Vroom). I love working in environments, I am more calm and get distracted less. One gripe I had was that I couldn't see the keyboard in an immersive environment, so I had to keep reorienting myself if I took my hands off of it. Now with visionOS 2 you can have the keyboard appear in an environment, so I'm excited to try that. The ability to have an ultra wide screen is a nice addition as well.
• ourguile 2y ago
  Yes - I do use it for watching films that I want to be more engaged in, usually films through Criterion. I find myself spending more time outdoors now that it's summer but during the winter I'm on it much more. I love the environments and do wish there were more to choose from, plus environments on more streaming platforms. The Disney+ ones are very well made.
• kayge 2y ago
  Yep! A mix of work and play. When I'm going to be spending a LOT of time coding I still prefer my ultra-wide physical monitor (probably my own fault for preferring such a small font size), but for things like handling tickets, emails, quick code changes in terminal, etc. it is pretty great. I ended up using a third-party head strap [0] to greatly improve comfort, but I know other folks use the stock strap for long sessions with no issues. YMMV :) [0] https://amzn.to/4ehZpnL https://amzn.to/4ehZpnL
• JeremyHerrman 2y ago
  Yes, still using it several times a week mostly for work via mac virtual display. If I need to work late at night, I find putting myself in a daylight immersive environment helps me stay awake and avoids high contrast difference between a laptop screen and a dark room.
  • Suppafly 2y ago
    >avoids high contrast difference between a laptop screen and a dark room. So one of the big advantages is that it saves you from turning on the overhead light?
    • JeremyHerrman 2y ago
      Late at night, I work in a corner of the bedroom because my wife likes me nearby. This helps not disturb her and my toddler while they sleep.
• oidar 2y ago
  No, I returned it. Kinda regretted it, so I picked up a Meta Quest 3 to scratch the VR itch. I use it for watching youtube while I do dishes and laundry. Sometimes I play golf for relaxation or beat saber. I really wish there was an easy way to put the older 3d blu-ray movies on the device to watch movies, because immersive movies are really the next level for entertainment.
  • AshamedCaptain 2y ago
    > I use it for watching youtube while I do dishes and laundry. How do you interact with it, ooi? Hand-tracking, voice, ... ? (Can't really touch the headset or controller with wet and/or busy hands). > I really wish there was an easy way to put the older 3d blu-ray movies on the device to watch movies, Oh there is, it just involves the high seas route. Also most movie-players on these devices suck a bit, i.e. they are either "too immersive" and make it difficult to use pass-through, or too useless like the builtin one.
    • upon_drumhead 2y ago
      Which 3d player are you using?
    • drewbaumann 2y ago
      Skybox VR is great for watching movies on The Quest line. 2D or 3D. There are actually some tools that exist to convert blu-rays to SBS 3D if you’re looking to go legit.
      • oidar 2y ago
        I am looking to do that - what's the workflow for for SBS 3d?
    • oidar 2y ago
      You can use your hands just fine. You just grab a screen on the edge and move it to where you want it to be. No need to touch the device or a controller.
  • 2y ago
• deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
• phyalow 2y ago
  I hadnt been for a month or so (picked it up at launch), but the new beta release of Vision OS 2 looks feels like a massive quality of life improvement. Foveation and implied resolution seem to be massively improved, framerates are much higher too. The new Bora Bora (day + night) environment is fabulous and has moments of "am I actually there", the prior exisiting environments have all had a decent bump in apparent quality too. Apple are slow rolling content and experiences, but I can see this working out in the long run. P.S. if anyone is still hung up on comfort, the "open face" headstraps do wonders, very much like wearing glasses.
  • jumploops 2y ago
    Do you have a recommendation on "open face" headstraps?
    • phyalow 2y ago
      I have this one (basic kit): https://www.etsy.com/listing/1677292928/comfort-system-for-the-apple-vision-pro https://www.etsy.com/listing/1677292928/comfort-system-for-t... its really great, its like wearing thick rimmed glasses instead of a scuba mask. You take the light seal off, and the vision pro floats over your face (held in place by the head band), no contact with cheeks etc. I also have this one, https://infinityone3d.com/en/collections/apple https://infinityone3d.com/en/collections/apple which I didnt like as much, but people on /r/visionpro rate it equally with the one above, so its largely a personal thing do with the fit accounting for the dimensions of your head. Either way, both are a massive step up from the stock experience IMO.
• pram 2y ago
  Yes, mostly for the Mac display. Also when crankin’ my hog (just being honest)
  • ramblerman 2y ago
    thanks for being honest, do you use apps for that, or just more immersive in such a big screen?
    • georgespencer 2y ago
      Neither a Vision Pro owner nor much of a hog cranker, so this comment may be something of a 'premature ejaculation', but I don't think there's any prospect of native applications designed to aid manipulating oneself to issue passing App Review.
      • throwawaytissue 2y ago
        I own a AVP, hog cranking is its killer use case. Porn on the AVP exists today whether Apple likes it or not. Passing app review doesnt matter, there are a number of subscription websites (sexlikereal, wankz, czechvr etc) which offer UHD uncompressed 8K MP4 videos for download. It is entirely possible (and quite easy) to download these UHD videos to a Mac, mount the folder containing the goon material on the Mac as a drive on the Vision Pro (local network drive), and stream the video to the AVP using a 3rd party 3d video player; Moonplayer is the pick of the bunch at the moment. I must say the experience is pretty damn good. I can see people getting addicted to it an unhealthy way. The sites mentioned above are only producing 8K at the moment, I think the AVP can handle more pixels, and there are new cameras coming on to the market (https://x.com/Blackmagic_News/status/1800273164867658228 https://x.com/Blackmagic_News/status/1800273164867658228) which will really crank things up a notch. There is a tremedous market oppurtunity available here, its niche at the moment, but once you experience good quality VR porn its hard to go back to the flat stuff. I should probably get a GF.... sigh.
        • georgespencer 2y ago
• sujal 2y ago
  I still use mine every couple of weeks for movies that my family doesn’t want to watch with me. I also use it as my hotel setup when I travel for work. It’s great having a full size monitor wherever I need. I’m excited for the coming improvements with vision os 2.0. I’m still not comfortable using it in public, though. It feels ostentatious, but I will try it the next time I fly with the family. Having people I trust around me will make me more willing to go immersive while traveling.
  • rchaud 2y ago
    > movies that my family doesn’t want to watch with me. Movies you're watching for the plot, no doubt.
    • tjpnz 2y ago
      Or language learning if you're watching a foreign one.
• deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
• LeoPanthera 2y ago
  Yes, but I'll use it a lot more when 2.0 comes out, so I can see my keyboard in environments, which is my biggest complaint. Mostly it's the best cinema screen I've ever viewed in my life. "Avatar 2", in 3D and at 48fps, is an absolutely stunning viewing experience. I wish high-framerate movies were more common. They look incredible.
• bitcurious 2y ago
  Returned in within the first month. Couldn’t use it for work because of the shared Apple ID requirements. Hand tracking was too laggy for games. That left movies/tv as the only winning feature, and I prefer to watch socially. Was pretty bummed tbh, I thought it would be much cooler. Edit: there was something really cool actually, that I think doesn’t get talked about enough. Pooping on Yosemite. Peak futurism.
  • LeoPanthera 2y ago
    Hand tracking is limited to 30fps in VisionOS 1.0, but in 2.0 it runs at the same framerate as the display, so it should be vastly improved.
    • ssfrr 2y ago
      30fps is 33ms per frame. I'd expect that to be fine for most free-space gestures (for musical instruments you generally want <10ms, but that's most noticeable with discrete impulsive events like hitting a drum pad, and even then is pretty manageable). Is the frame rate really the limiting factor here, or something algorithmic in the tracking (like smoothing out noise)?
      • Cushman 2y ago
        Surprisingly, yes! 90hz would be considered the minimum here. As a general statement, no, vision isn’t as time-sensitive as hearing, so the timing requirements aren’t as precise. But when it comes to head and hand tracking, the brain’s also doing predictive sensor fusion, and even “unnoticeably” small delays can be disorienting or nauseating. (Ocular fixation is the most sensitive, but hand-eye coordination is also pretty important to the brain!) The important number in VR is “motion-to-photon” latency. Over 20ms starts to be noticeable to most people; 50ms starts to make most people uncomfortable. That’s the total budget for sensor fusion, simulation, rendering, and display, and that’s just for the bare-minimum experience that doesn’t make people immediately ill. You can do a lot with prediction and late updates in screen space, which is what makes VR possible at all on current hardware— but it’s hard to make up for having sensor data delayed by possibly 150% of the total time budget :)
• didip 2y ago
  Of course, watching action movies is simply not the same without it.
• guiomie 2y ago
  Yes I do, to consume video content every other day on it. Sadly, I'm not the main owner of the device, because there is no multi user support, I cannot use it for day to day work (my partner is logged into it).
• jumploops 2y ago
  Haven't touched it in months. Thought about bringing it on a recent international flight, but we had toddler in tow and I didn't want to lug it around for a couple of weeks. Excited about the updates to the OS, my goal was always to use it for work, as an alternative posture mode, but couldn't get used to it at first. Are there any other killer apps other than movies these days?
  • tomcam 2y ago
    > we had toddler in tow and I didn't want to lug it around for a couple of weeks. Weird. I really enjoyed our toddlers
    • lemoncucumber 2y ago
      They just take up so much space in your luggage though
      • tomcam 2y ago
        I have two words for you, my friend: roof rack
• TimCTRL 2y ago
  [flagged]
• shreezus 2y ago
  No, I found it uncomfortable for extended periods of wear - to the point where I would rather just use a normal display on my Mac etc. I look forward to the second-generation with comfort, weight, & FOV improvements (hopefully!). It also still hasn't found the "killer apps" just yet, but it's clear Apple is still heavily invested into this considering there's nearly 30 sessions on VisionOS at WWDC this week.
  • upmind 2y ago
    Why don't you sell/return it then?
    • hammyhavoc 2y ago
      Probably not hurting for the cash, hence being an early adopter on something unproven.
• wvoch235 2y ago
  As an aside, and as someone who doesn't own a vision pro (non US pleb): While it is interesting to me if people find utility. I can't help but feel that the narrative on places outside of HN is a strong "no". But, that is to be expected, the form factor isn't convenient yet. When mobile phones weighed 2KG few people used them on a daily. When it's miniaturized into the form factor of glasses, we'll all be daily users. That seems to me more like a question of when, not if.
  • Suppafly 2y ago
    A lot of the utility, even in this thread, seems to be solutions for problems that don't actually exist. I think it's cool technology, but nothing mentioned in this thread makes me want to get one.
    • Slyfox33 2y ago
      Yep, very skeptical of any claims of "increased productivity" over a regular screen.
  • rchaud 2y ago
    Outside of HN, VR is a hard sell. Outside of VR games, it is an almost impossible sell, and Apple is irrelevant when it comes to gaming. At $3500, in this economy, it's a no-go for all but the most die-hard of Apple fans.
• drewbaumann 2y ago
  Yes. I use it and have an app on the Vision Pro app store for watching content.
• ein0p 2y ago
  Until it gets multiple account support, it’s not even an option. I could buy one, but I’m not going to buy three. Nor can I use it for work, for the same reason.
  • hammyhavoc 2y ago
    The iPad not allowing multiple users seems like leaving money on the table for cheap, decent-battery family computer, even if they're not really into Apple.
    • ein0p 2y ago
      +1. Especially considering that this capability already exists in iPad, you just need school-specific management software to use it. But the problem is much more acute in a novel device without much of a software catalog, selling at three times the price
      • hammyhavoc 2y ago
        There's certain things that the iPad can do relatively cheaply, but they're not things anybody in our family would use all the time, but as a quick "oh, can I just borrow the iPad to xyz?", that would be fine. Wouldn't be a daily-driver (we're NixOS nerds in this house), but I imagine a lot of households would buy one whereas they otherwise probably wouldn't. We've had Surface Pros before, but the integration of pen/pencil and software availability left a lot to be desired if you wanted a dedicated tablet rather than a 2-in-1 experience. Never bought any further Surface Pros.
• stmpjmpr 2y ago
  Yes, for movies and TV, and as a virtual monitor occasionally. I've travelled with it quite a bit as well, and it's great on long international flights.
• polo 2y ago
  Yes, almost every day. I travel regularly and I love having a big, crisp, private display every where I am: Hotel, plane, train. Makes me so much more productive. Consuming content is great of course but the AVP has changed my content creation: I take way more panoramas and now spatial photos (Spatialify on iOS works well). I also bought an Insta X4 360 camera which, while a far cry from Apple's immersive content in resolution, can still be a really nice way to relive memories. More content: Last year I started 3d scanning (using Scaniverse) sculptures and other art / items that catch my eye during my travels. The AVP makes it really easy to import and place them in my environment. When I'm working I'll often place a favorite sculpture next to me for company & as a reminder of a trip I took. Finally, even after 4 months of use, it's still really fun and, from a tech perspective, astounding in terms of image quality, stability, 3D placement, integration in environment, etc. I love it and I can't wait for this tech to get better and better.
  • throwaway211 2y ago
    One early part of your post is about being productive. Much of the rest is about creating nostalgia and reliving a past trip through these. Is there a paradox, or contradiction, in these themes?
    • polo 2y ago
      Interesting question. I don't think so. More just different facets of the device. I expected good productivity, and I expected to enjoy consuming content in the AVP. The changes in how I capture memories I didn't expect but make sense to me retrospectively. For example, the first time you experience one of your panoramas in the AVP is the time your jaw drops and you tell yourself you really need to take more of these! :-)
    • steve1977 2y ago
      I had exactly the same thought. And this is not meant as an attack or anything on OP. But after reading OP's comment, the question in my mind was indeed "ok, but how exactly does it make you more productive?"
• danjl 2y ago
  If you could watch NBA games from court side seat in VR, they would be flying off the shelves. I'm fairly sure nothing technical is preventing this from happening. Most likely it is blocked by existing media contracts. I.e "non-technical" reasons.
  • brokenmachine 2y ago
    I'd rather just a normal courtside camera and watch on a big screen without wearing a sweaty heavy thing on my head, but that's just me.
  • mvdtnz 2y ago
    How would this even work? The only plausible way I could think it that there's a 360 degree camera mounted court side and you can control the view by turning your head. But it would be entirely non-immersive because moving your upper body in any walk would immediately break the illusion. If the idea is just a court side camera I don't see what benefit the big headset is adding?
    • usehackernews 2y ago
      NBA already offers the ability to watch games via VR. It’s a 180 degree camera set up court side. > it would be entirely non-immersive because moving your upper body Not sure what you mean by this? Even so, it’s not about perfect immersion. It’s about having the best view of the game sitting from home.
      • stufffer 2y ago
        >> it would be entirely non-immersive because moving your upper body >Not sure what you mean by this? Imagine full 3d scan of the players in real time. You could move around the court and watch them play.
        • sloproth 2y ago
          What are the technologies that would make this possible? My assumption is that you have multiple cameras around the court, similar to how the infamous matrix bullet dodging scene was captured, and then use that to create an explorable virtual environment. I'm fascinated by this. Thanks!
• archagon 2y ago
  I bought it shortly after release, but returned it a month later: * The sizing options are really confusing, and my measured fit (as determined by the app over a dozen runs) felt somewhat loose. Apple Store staff could not tell me what the numbers meant and could only size me through the app. * There's not a lot of VR content available right now — just a few short (admittedly impressive) clips. * I feel isolated when watching media, and it's also much harder to snack and get cozy. * Gesture controls are (intrinsically) imprecise and frequently fire incorrectly — a serious regression from physical buttons or even touch input. Also, selection via gaze does not feel natural to me. I am itching for a physical Quest-like controller for selection and input. * A Quest-like controller is also essential for gaming. You really can't do much with gesture controls, and a gamepad does not allow you to interact directly with the virtual world. In fact, most apps that I'd be interested in (painting, sculpting, etc.) would really benefit from physical controls. Drawing with gesture controls feels pretty bad. * On that note, no Beat Saber, which is my killer app. And even if it did exist, I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable getting sweaty in a $4000 device. * Mac display mirroring has latency, looks a bit grainy, and does not support 120Hz. Categorically worse than my existing physical displays. * I want to use my third party mechanical keyboard, mouse, and headphones, but only Bluetooth accessories are really supported. * It's not very portable. I'm not sure how I'd be able to take this anywhere in my carryon. (I don't usually check luggage.) * I get a headache after a fairly short time of using the device. It's also stuffy. * I can't build or run anything without approval by the Apple police. This does not feel like a general purpose computer and is unlikely to be the "future" of anything until the platform opens up, or is made to open up. Oh well. Maybe I'll try again in a few years. In the meantime, I'll keep gaming on my Quest.
  • paulcole 2y ago
    > I can't build or run anything without approval by the Apple police it’s wild that they advertise and promote it as something totally open where you can build and run anything you want
    • Teever 2y ago
      I mean, is it so wild though? It's not like they're going to face any actual repercussions for this behavior.
• halfnormalform 2y ago
  Yes! At least once a week. Mostly to try out new apps and immersive content. I’ve taken it on a couple trips to capture immersive video, but never in public spaces, because that would be weird and I don’t want to be mugged.
• FrostKiwi 2y ago
  Working on controlling industry machines from mixed reality. Pretty neat on the Meta Quest 3. Would love to get my hands on the Vision Pro, still not available here in Japan.
• Subheader8792 2y ago
  A conversation with my dad on this post (before he eventually convinced me to post my thoughts here) went a little like this: --- Here's my take on it. The Apple Vision Pro was built for being a computer that encompasses space. Not meant to be a “headset”, and not approaching the problem as a “headset”, but more-so an immersive head-mounted computer. So all the preconceptions people’ve had about “headset” in the past are kinda thrown out the window. Sure, the Quest 3 is similar in that it’s got a focus on AR instead of VR, but it’s still built for gaming first - we can see by the app library and what the Quest store pushes for its apps - it’s gaming. Similar story with other headsets - primary focus is gaming. Be it immersive experiences in gaming (KayakVR, etc.), competitive gaming (Breachers, Pavlov, etc.), or social (VRChat, Resonite, Rec Room, Bigscreen, etc.), it’s still gaming. The Apple Vision Pro is built on a completely different foundation and philosophy from other headsets. That’s why, and how, I use mine. Otherwise, it would just kinda be in the corner as a “really high resolution, really good eye and hand tracked, but otherwise very uncomfortable and heavy headset with too many compromises” sorta deal. My Quest 2 for example, I bought that simply to tear it apart and have fun with it. I did just that, and now it’s non-functional (I have to fix it up at some point). My Pico 4 Enterprise, I bought with the express intent of getting eye and face tracking working without needing to get a Quest Pro (with worse compromises in my mind, for my use-case at least). My Bigscreen Beyond is my main headset for all VR experiences as it compromises on things I’m okay with compromising on, and shines in places I really want it to. Ultimately, it’s a great all-around social and immersive headset while also being great with being competitive due to its small form factor. However, it’s still all gaming. The compromise that stops me from using the Beyond over the Vision Pro in certain use-cases is: - not wireless - not running its own OS - doesn’t have passthrough - doesn’t have eye and hand tracking - relies on SteamVR (which is great for gaming, but really janky for anything other than gaming) My Apple Vision Pro is my main headset for being an extension of myself and becoming more connected with the tools I regularly use — my computers. I pretty regularly use it when connecting to my macbook and my desktop PC (via Moonlight) so I can bring the screens with me wherever I go in the house, or even have a significantly more convenient viewing experience for content being consumed. I.e. - when doing things around the house like - cooking food - folding laundry - cleaning around the house - etc. - when lying down in bed, it’s much easier to stare at the ceiling than crane my neck over to look at a laptop screen Plus, the Vision Pro has significantly better (in my experience) hand-based interactions simply due to it having the selection laser based on eye tracking. While there are false negatives and false positives with eye tracking, or even hand tracking for finger taps, I’ve found it to be significantly less frustrating than the Quest 2 and Quest Pro hand tracking along with the Pico 4 Enterprise hand tracking too. This is mostly because, to select, you’d need to pinch your forefinger and thumb together (on quest) or move your thumb from a thumbs-up to a fist (on pico) to select. This inherently changes where the cursor is pointing, so I’d end up selecting the same button at least three times before it actually hits. Sometimes the cursor would show that I’m selecting it, but it doesn’t actuate the “click” because I — apparently — didn’t tap my finger hard enough. So I basically find that the Vision Pro — while having so many faults in general — is the best that I’ve experienced in terms of system interaction by hand tracking, and also best in class for passthrough in terms of latency and camera distortion. It doesn’t make me regularly annoyed to use, and actually removes some distractions based on me needing to learn a whole different set of things because of inherent weaknesses in the hardware and software (in the case of Quest and Pico). VisionOS just makes a lot more sense to me, despite my understanding the technicalities behind the android-based operating systems a lot better than VisionOS (every day, I’m learning something new about VisionOS) I think a lot of people rag on the Vision Pro just because a) It’s Apple. It’s easy to rag on them for anything b) It’s $3500 c) It’s not even got good software (they’re looking for something that Apple didn’t want to consider under their paradigms, but blaming Apple for being intentional and not pursuing those experiences) d) It’s heavy (entirely fair) I think, while I’ve been praising the Vision Pro, I’ve also been critical about a lot of aspects on it. I don’t see many people actually being critical about the Vision Pro, but more-so just whiny and complain-y. There are actual discussions that can go on and take place with this hardware, software, and experience, but people (and this is a pet peeve of mine) ignore all that and just complain because it’s fun to complain and not fun to actually discuss, understand, and bring forth ideas based on said discussion, on how this could benefit everyone — both in the VR / AR / HMD industry as well as outside of it. anyway, </rant> --- For context, I am a heavy user of VR, with nearly 400 hours in the Beyond since December 2023.
• netvl 2y ago
  Yes, almost every day. I spend approximately 60-70% of my time working with the headset on, connected to my MacBook. It’s actually better for me than my physical display because of the Zeiss inserts - I usually don’t wear glasses, so due to inserts, the desktop is subjectively crisper than the monitor :) I really can’t wait for visionOS 2 improvements in the virtual display feature. Most of the media content I consume alone, and Vision Pro is perfect for that, especially watching something before sleep - the headset does not light up the entire room (unlike a phone/tablet screen) and thus does not mess up my wife’s sleep. One thing I surprisingly don’t use it for are “immersive” videos and other experiences like VR or MR games. I’m not quite sure why - I always plan to try something out, but never do it actually.
  • euroderf 2y ago
    re. Zeiss inserts - do you have astigmatism ?
    • netvl 2y ago
      Yup - my correction is not very strong, I usually don’t wear glasses at all, and I was able to use Vision Pro without inserts just fine, but with inserts subjective sharpness is much better.
  • FabHK 2y ago
    > the headset does not light up the entire room Isn't there this front display for the pass-through eyes? That switches off automatically if there is no interaction, or it's just not very bright?
    • netvl 2y ago
      Front display is very dim, and yes, it mostly turns on for interactions.
• joshstrange 2y ago
  Nope, I returned it. I wrote about it across multiple blog posts [0] but the TL;DR is that it was too limiting. It was strapping an iPad to your face and an iPad is an incredibly limiting device IMHO, one that is only good for content consumption (at least for the hobbies/interests I have). I was excited for Mac Virtual Display but it was too blurry (I tried with contacts in and with the lenses from Apple). Even in MVD I felt incredibly limited and just wanted to go back to using my actual displays. Within a week I had to force myself to put it on, I wasn’t drawn to it. Honestly I think I enjoyed writing blog posts about it more than I enjoyed actually using the device. If/when MVD and passthrough get better I’ll probably buy it (new model) again but for now it’s just not good enough, especially for the price. If it was $1K or less I might have kept it. [0] https://joshstrange.com https://joshstrange.com
• morgango 2y ago
  Interesting, my partner's son got one for free for developing some graphics drivers that needed to be ported to the Vision Pro. I was super interested in it for a few days but we never took it out of the box. I have been meaning to take a look at it, but life keeps getting in the way.
• enduser 2y ago
  Yes, mostly for Mac Virtual Display. Excite for the MVD improvements to come with visionOS 2.0. It's a great device.
• mkevac 2y ago
  I am still amazed at how one can return a used device a month after buying it. It would not be possible where I grew up. And still, when I hear, "I have returned it," I am like, "What? You returned it just because you did not like it? And it was not broken? Wow!"