Review: Two Weeks With the Apple Vision Pro

Today marks the two-week anniversary of the Apple Vision Pro launch, and the last day for returns for those who purchased on release day. With plenty of stories going around from those who decided not to keep the $3,500 device, MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera thought he'd share some of the reasons why he'll be keeping his headset.


We need to have a few Vision Pro headsets on hand to write about them here at MacRumors, so that's one of the primary reasons that Dan will be keeping his. Apple is already working on visionOS 2, and we're interested in seeing what changes and updates are in store. We're also getting new apps on a regular basis, all of which make the Vision Pro a more appealing device.

The Vision Pro is the best way to be immersed in a movie, especially 3D movies, and that's another key reason why Dan won't be bringing his back to the Apple Store. The Cinema Environment that shuts out the world is hard to beat because it's basically your own personal movie theater.

Working on the Vision Pro needs some improvement, perhaps with support for multiple Mac displays, but it's useful when traveling with a laptop. It would also be nice to be able to use a mouse, but Magic Keyboard and Trackpad input work well enough.

There are some downsides to the Vision Pro. It's hard to wear for more than about an hour, the battery life is awful, and it doesn't hold a charge at all when not in use. Touch typing with the air keyboard is a poor experience, Personas need a lot of work to be less creepy, there still aren't a whole lot of groundbreaking app experiences, and Guest Mode is awful, so it is fully understandable why we're hearing a lot of return stories.

Make sure to watch Dan's full video to get his thoughts on the Vision Pro after two weeks, and let us know if you kept or returned your Vision Pro in the comments below.

Related Roundup: Apple Vision Pro
Buyer's Guide: Vision Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: Apple Vision Pro

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Top Rated Comments

Someyoungguy Avatar
16 months ago
Ha ha we finally know the use case for this thing and it’s to write more about it. It exists for its own sake, and nothing else.
Score: 56 Votes (Like | Disagree)
atomwork Avatar
16 months ago
Its a cool product and the demo was amazing. But as a UXUI Designer, it's not helping me. And it's too expensive to play games. Quest 3 would be the better option
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wgaller Avatar
16 months ago
So the killer app is having your own personal movie theater yet it’s hard to wear for more than an hour?
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G5isAlive Avatar
16 months ago
You realize all the people that have been putting this down with religious fervor are not going to look past "I kept this because its my job."

Having said that, I share your personal enthusiasm for the device and look forward to the time ahead with it. Ever day with it I discover more things that I like, and learn to work around the things I don't. I have never been a fan of panorama pictures on my iPhone, they always seemed warped (probably because they are). I read here yesterday from an actual owner how good panoramas are... and as I was wearing my AVP it was easy to go to the ones I had taken .. and.. was floored. So thankful for the Panoramas I did take on my travels. Took me right back there. Anyway, that's just the most recent reason I am keeping mine.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
16 months ago

Huh?

I’ve read this three times and I’m still confused

Been a long week. Might be that.
It's a joke- see that wink at the end. I'm poking at the pessimism being so extreme that they can't just expect 100% returns but 110% returns because 100% would not be enough to support the contempt some feel for this thing... and make sure the rest of us know that in every Vpro thread.

All entitled to their own opinion of course but I just don't grasp the waste of time & energy some put into a product discussion they very obviously have no interest in trying or ever buying.

I happen to have no interest in Watch. You won't find many of my thousands of posts since 2004 in Watch threads. I'd rather focus my learning and/or insights I might offer on products in which I AM interested than where I am not. But again, to each their own.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
16 months ago
Thankfully Apple has a generous return policy
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)