The headset will only appear in American stores on Friday, but the first reviews of the Apple Vision Pro have already appeared. This is what they say!
First reviews about Apple Vision Pro
Americans only have to wait a little longer, because the Apple Vision Pro will appear in stores there next Friday. Apple’s first spatial computer has been available to order in the United States since Friday, January 19, and the first extensive reviews have now been published. These longer reviews delve deeper into the user experience of the past few weeks with the Vision Pro.
Also read: First reviews about the Vision Pro appeared – this is what they say
This finally gives us an idea of ​​whether the Apple Vision Pro is indeed worth the $3500. That is the starting price of the spatial computer, you will pay even more money for more accessories and special lenses in the glasses. Are you curious about the first user experiences with the device? This is what the extensive reviews say about the Apple Vision Pro.
Battery life of the Vision Pro
According to Apple, the Vision Pro’s battery lasts about two hours. Then you need to put the headset on the charger or grab another external battery that you can carry with you. The first reviews are slightly more positive about the battery life, for example the Vision Pro lasted 2.5 hours with Apple expert Brian Tong. When watching a movie it was even longer, where the headset lasted 3 hours.
This is confirmed in other reviews about the Vision Pro, where they also mention a battery life of three hours. This of course depends on the tasks you perform with the spatial computer, but it seems like you will do an average of 2.5 hours with the Vision Pro. Charging is not very fast, after half an hour the device is reportedly charged again to 37 percent.
visionOS home screen
The first reviews about the Vision Pro show that Apple still has a considerable number of improvements to make in visionOS. The spatial computer runs on a completely new operating system, with which you as a user have little freedom. According to the reviews, you cannot customize the home screen of visionOS, so you cannot, for example, add third-party apps.
These are sorted in alphabetical order on the second (or later) page. It is also not possible to add web apps to the visionOS home screen. That’s a shame, especially because YouTube, Spotify and Netflix do not release a special app for the headset. Reviews therefore indicate that there is still work to be done with visionOS on the Apple Vision Pro.
Personas and EyeSight with the Apple Vision Pro
The limited home screen is not the only problem in visionOS, because FaceTime also only works to a limited extent. According to reviews, it is already possible to use FaceTime with the Apple Vision Pro, but this does not yet work properly. Your face is covered by the glasses, so during a video call the Vision Pro creates a digital version (Persona) of your face.
Also read: This is how cool the first Apple Vision Pro apps look
According to reviews, these digital versions are not yet very accurate with the Vision Pro, causing faces to be displayed distorted. According to Apple, tests are still being run to improve the Personas, so that feature will (hopefully) improve soon. This also means that the eyes on the front of the Vision Pro (EyeSight) are sometimes depicted strangely.
Virtual screen for Mac
A useful feature of the Vision Pro is that it can take over the screen of your Mac. Reviews describe that this is extremely easy with the Vision Pro. You only have to look at the screen of your Mac for the function, after which the glasses will take over automatically. A major advantage according to the reviewers is that you can then make the screen as large as you want and place it in the location that suits you best.
The first reviews show that there are still some problems with the Vision Pro if you use the virtual screen for your Mac. The screen does not yet work properly and reportedly sometimes does not feel completely natural. However, opinions about this function are positive, especially because improvements can be made in the future that refine the feature.
Wearing comfort of the Vision Pro
Naturally, all reviews discuss the wearing comfort of the Vision Pro. Opinions are not very positive about this, the weight of the headset is reportedly not well distributed. The Vision Pro comes standard with the Solo Knit Band, which only gives you a band at the back of your head. According to many reviewers, this is no longer comfortable after a few hours.
That does not mean that the wearing comfort of the Vision Pro is always unpleasant, because the headset also comes with the Dual Loop Band. A strap runs over the top of your head, so that the weight of the Vision Pro is much better distributed, according to reviews. The glasses remain heavy, but reviewers are a lot more positive about the Dual Loop Band.
Apple Vision Pro will be shipped abroad this year
The reviews about the Apple Vision Pro are therefore less positive than we expected in advance. Opinions are especially divided about visionOS and the wearing comfort of the glasses. That is not surprising, after all, this is only the first generation of the Vision Pro. Apple will undoubtedly focus on perfecting the spatial computer in the coming years.
Also read: Video: this is how the Vision Pro is made (and this is why it is so expensive)
With the reviews, reviewers are certainly anticipating the release of the Apple Vision Pro, because the headset will appear in American stores next Friday. In the Netherlands we will have to wait a while, it is still uncertain whether the spatial computer will come to Europe this year. Do you want to know which countries the Vision Pro is likely to come to this year? Then read more about the release of the Vision Pro here!
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