Up close and hands on with Apple Vision Pro at Apple Park

AppleInsider

I got a chance to head to Apple Park for the launch of the Apple Vision Pro headset where I saw how incredible the hardware truly was in person. Here's what I thought.


Vision Pro at Apple Park

After years of speculation and rumors, the Apple Vision Pro headset is real -- and for the first time, it's been shown off in public. Immediately after the same launch keynote that was streamed live, invited guests at Apple Park were shown the device.

Seeing the device in person, it looks just as good as Apple's on-screen product renders showed. The front-facing laminated panel of curved glass is pristinely polished and almost entirely hides the array of cameras and sensors that sit just below each eye.


Up close, you can see the display's pixels and the lower cameras and sensors

The exterior screen, used for Apple's EyeSight feature that I was not able to demo, swirled around. When up close, you can see the pixels on the external display but a few feet away they become indiscernible.

If you got close enough to see the pixels, you'd certainly be uncomfortably close to the wearer.


Vision Pro borrows the Apple Watch's Digital Crown

Aside from the glass front, the body of the headset is made from a custom aluminum alloy that is lightweight and keeps Apple's design aesthetic. It gives off a mix of an early iPhone and AirPods Max.

On the top-right corner of the headset is a Digital Crown, borrowed from Apple Watch. You can press it any time to take you back to the Home Screen and app picker of the Vision Pro.



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Rotating the Digital Crown increases or decreases the level of immersion. You could put a background behind your workspace or you can extend it all the way around you.

The opposing top corner has a second button that is used to capture 3D photos and videos. This is another feature that Apple didn't allow anyone to try.


Apple Vision Pro's battery pack

Apple rather skirted around the issue of battery life during its launch video, but as well as two hours from a single charge, I learned you can also use it plugged into the wall for all-day wear. Though, I'm not sure you'd want to do that.

The battery pack is also made from aluminum with an Apple logo stamped onto one side. Apple said the battery cable is permanently connected to the battery pack. The pack's cable detaches from the headset with a mechanical latch.


Where the cable connects to the headset

A woven cable connects the headset to the battery that easily sits in your pocket as you move around.


Quick release for the Vision Pro strap

Also like the Apple Watch with its quick-release bands, the Vision Pro comes with a headband that can be readily swapped out for different ones. There are already third-party companies making alternatives.


The headband is made from a single piece of woven fabric

It's made from a single-woven piece and offers plenty of stretch and comfort for wearers. A knob on the back-left lets you precisely control the level of tension holding the headset in place.


Adjustment knob for the strap

When wearing the headset, most of the time your eyes control it. You just look at an app icon to select it, for instance, though you then tap your fingers together to launch it.

The downward-facing cameras make this incredibly natural as you don't have to hold your hands in the air, you can wrest them on your legs or on your desk.

Seeing the Vision Pro up close, it's clearly Apple through and through -- sleek, thoughtfully designed, and also expensive. Tim Cook has been promoting the Vision Pro and says that the engineering involved is "mind blowing."

From what I was able to see, the Vision Pro looks like an incredibly well-engineered product. But there's still more I want to test for myself.

Apple didn't allow anyone to test EyeSight, the Mac experience, or capture 3D photos and videos. Let alone what third-party apps will come up with by launch.

Vision Pro certainly has me excited though. It's going to be a long wait until "early next year."

Read on AppleInsider

mikethemartian

Does the front screen let you do this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ccKPSVQcFk

h4y3s

Remember folks, this is just an early prototype of the eventual "Apple iGlasses". This one built for programmers and developers to get their hands on something that works before they roll out the final product, which will look more like a pair of Ray-Ban's and you will wear all day!  Maybe in five or six years. 

h4y3s

mikethemartian said:

Does the front screen let you do this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ccKPSVQcFk

I hope so soon!

eightzero

Good review. I'm in wait mode too.

One thing I am still very curious about is the Rx Zeiss lens inserts. I'd be interested in a review that used those, and more info on the limits of Rx. I might not be able to use this device at all if I can't get my prescription to work -  in any case those inserts are gonna be hundreds of dollars. And it did occur to me that I wonder if a developer (or even Apple?) has pondered using this as an optometric exam device. Yes, you need other things from your physician on your eyes, but that "which is better...1 <click> or 2 <click> or 3 <click>" etc etc is not fun. Make it an app and just go to some place to put this device on, walk out with an updated prescription. 

omasou

Wish the cord used a USB-C interface to connect to the battery. Then third-party batteries or multiple Apple batteries could be use.

Or perhaps that's the point, maybe the battery has to meet certain specs?

Either way seems strange to have a fixed cord length...yeah it may reach my pocket but can I put it on the desk? Actually, the more I think about it this would be a good use case for the magsafe charging connector on the battery side.

ravnorodom

Truly it's a state of the art technology by today's standard. It's a like a cross between AR and VR eyewear. It would be nice to be able to try on in Apple Store.

Xed

h4y3s said:

Remember folks, this is just an early prototype of the eventual "Apple iGlasses". This one built for programmers and developers to get their hands on something that works before they roll out the final product, which will look more like a pair of Ray-Ban's and you will wear all day!  Maybe in five or six years. 

1) They've moved away from i-naming scheme.
2) We are not 5 or 6 years away from getting an M-series chip (or any of the other HW) into something the size and weight of a pay of Ray-Bans.

tmay

Hopefully, a third party will be able to provide a hot swappable, dual battery configuration so that there is essentially limitless power with multiple batteries. Not sure I would want to wear this for more than an Oppenheimer length film, but at least you would have the option of taking a leak, or hitting the fridge without pausing, and missing a scene!

Appleish

People speculating on the ins and outs of the battery pack:

You can also plug Vision Pro into the wall. My guess is that most people, most of the time will use them like that. I know I will.

hmlongco

Didn't discuss screen quality. Do things look high definition? Any screen-door effects?

charlesn

h4y3s said:

Remember folks, this is just an early prototype of the eventual "Apple iGlasses". This one built for programmers and developers to get their hands on something that works before they roll out the final product, which will look more like a pair of Ray-Ban's and you will wear all day!  Maybe in five or six years. 

5 or 6 years til iGlasses? HAH! Take a look at VR headsets from the early 90s--Apple's Vision Pro is somewhat smaller and certainly sleeker, but the form factor hasn't changed all that much in 30 years. All of the tech jammed into the Vision Pro isn't going to be miniaturized to fit into a glasses form factor withing 5, 6, 10 years or more. Also, glasses would give you the equivalent of a heads-up display, which isn't what the Vision Pro is about. VR or mixed VR only works if your field of vision is totally immersed by the VR screens. Too much "reality" and too much light leaks in through glasses to give you a VR experience. 

StrangeDays

h4y3s said:

Remember folks, this is just an early prototype of the eventual "Apple iGlasses". This one built for programmers and developers to get their hands on something that works before they roll out the final product, which will look more like a pair of Ray-Ban's and you will wear all day!  Maybe in five or six years. 

I think you over-estimate the progress. Maybe 15 (does iPhone look like a sci-fi device 15 years later?). But glasses achieve something different anyway, that’s pure AR, not any sort VR

nubus

Clearly the hardware and integrations are far ahead of what we could expect. But is this like Segway, Newton, Google Glass, OpenDoc, Google Wave, and 3D-TV impressive tech that won't work outside the lab? A dad hiding behind his avatar when his kids are around? A colleague with non-visor colleagues? The hardware is not the problem.

Fidonet127

Appleish said:

People speculating on the ins and outs of the battery pack:

You can also plug Vision Pro into the wall. My guess is that most people, most of the time will use them like that. I know I will.

Looks like the battery has a USB-C port for power in, so why not hook additional/3rd party to that port?

anonymouse

h4y3s said:

Remember folks, this is just an early prototype of the eventual "Apple iGlasses". This one built for programmers and developers to get their hands on something that works before they roll out the final product, which will look more like a pair of Ray-Ban's and you will wear all day!  Maybe in five or six years. 

I was hoping for contact lenses. 

anonymouse

charlesn said:

h4y3s said:

Remember folks, this is just an early prototype of the eventual "Apple iGlasses". This one built for programmers and developers to get their hands on something that works before they roll out the final product, which will look more like a pair of Ray-Ban's and you will wear all day!  Maybe in five or six years. 

5 or 6 years til iGlasses? HAH! Take a look at VR headsets from the early 90s--Apple's Vision Pro is somewhat smaller and certainly sleeker, but the form factor hasn't changed all that much in 30 years. All of the tech jammed into the Vision Pro isn't going to be miniaturized to fit into a glasses form factor withing 5, 6, 10 years or more. Also, glasses would give you the equivalent of a heads-up display, which isn't what the Vision Pro is about. VR or mixed VR only works if your field of vision is totally immersed by the VR screens. Too much "reality" and too much light leaks in through glasses to give you a VR experience. 

StrangeDays said:

h4y3s said:

Remember folks, this is just an early prototype of the eventual "Apple iGlasses". This one built for programmers and developers to get their hands on something that works before they roll out the final product, which will look more like a pair of Ray-Ban's and you will wear all day!  Maybe in five or six years. 

I think you over-estimate the progress. Maybe 15 (does iPhone look like a sci-fi device 15 years later?). But glasses achieve something different anyway, that’s pure AR, not any sort VR

Well, I don't often quote Bill Gates, but I think this one may be appropriate in this instance: Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years. (Actually, I didn't verify that those were his exact words, but, in any case, it captures his meaning.)

eightzero

Xed said:

h4y3s said:

Remember folks, this is just an early prototype of the eventual "Apple iGlasses". This one built for programmers and developers to get their hands on something that works before they roll out the final product, which will look more like a pair of Ray-Ban's and you will wear all day!  Maybe in five or six years. 

1) They've moved away from i-naming scheme.
2) We are not 5 or 6 years away from getting an M-series chip (or any of the other HW) into something the size and weight of a pay of Ray-Bans.

In 1963 we were not 5-6 years away from landing on the moon. In 2017 we were not 5-6 from this device or a Mac Pro like they showed yesterday. Or a camera like what it on the iPhone 14. Come to think about it, Apple does still seem to [sell] see a lot of iMacs, iPhones, and iCloud services these days. [typo fixed]

danox

Fidonet127 said:

Appleish said:

People speculating on the ins and outs of the battery pack:

You can also plug Vision Pro into the wall. My guess is that most people, most of the time will use them like that. I know I will.

Looks like the battery has a USB-C port for power in, so why not hook additional/3rd party to that port?

It’s coming the hardware accessory people need six months to be ready on launch day.

chutzpah

Fidonet127 said:

Appleish said:

People speculating on the ins and outs of the battery pack:

You can also plug Vision Pro into the wall. My guess is that most people, most of the time will use them like that. I know I will.

Looks like the battery has a USB-C port for power in, so why not hook additional/3rd party to that port?

Sit on a pile of power packs and keep your tushy as warm as your face.

Xed

eightzero said:

Xed said:

h4y3s said:

Remember folks, this is just an early prototype of the eventual "Apple iGlasses". This one built for programmers and developers to get their hands on something that works before they roll out the final product, which will look more like a pair of Ray-Ban's and you will wear all day!  Maybe in five or six years. 

1) They've moved away from i-naming scheme.
2) We are not 5 or 6 years away from getting an M-series chip (or any of the other HW) into something the size and weight of a pay of Ray-Bans.

In 1963 we were not 5-6 years away from landing on the moon.

Of course we were. Untess you're a conspiracy theorist, we landed there in 1969.

In 2017 we were not 5-6 from this device or a Mac Pro like they showed yesterday.

Clearly we were, and it was obvious since we already had the same SoC in a much smaller Mac Studio. All they did was effectively get PCIe slots in the chassis from the previous Mac Pro.

Or a camera like what it on the iPhone 14.

Sure it was as it's just a iteration.

Come to think about it, Apple does still seem to see a lot of iMacs, iPhones, and iCloud services these days.

Huh? Was that sentence suppose to say something?

Outside of your beyond ridiculous comparisons the bottom line is that your suggestions that VR goggles could be the size and weight of a pair of Ray-Bans in half a decade without anything to back up that projection is not just silly, but downright stupid. These aren't stand-alone AR glasses like Google Glass, but offer a fully immersive VR experience. Even if the tech could reasonably shrink to fit everything inside of a pair of lightweight sunglasses in a handful of years (again, it can't), you're still missing the fundamental issue with making a VR headset that is open around the sides, top and bottom as is the case with a pair of Ray-Bans.