In the USA, journalists and influencers received and tested Apple’s headset. The opinions are mixed.
That’s from February 2nd Apple Vision Pro available in the US for $3,500. Today the first testers who received the headset from Apple received theirs Reviews published.
Die processing is praised by all testers. Compared to other VR headsets, it would seem high quality. It would also continue Apple’s design language. The scope of delivery includes 2 headbands. One with a single strap and one with a double strap. The latter ensures a more stable hold, the simplicity is for The Verge more comfortable.
Nobody complained about a headache while using it – but they did complain about this high weight. “The thing you notice most about the hardware after a while: it’s so heavy. The headset weighs between 600 and 650 grams. It’s like a 12.9-inch iPad Pro for your face,” writes The Verge. In addition, it is very front-heavy. Toms Guide I don’t think the Vision Pro is uncomfortable, but I had to because of the heavy weight regular breaks insert.
The external battery is attached to clothing using a clip. Tom’s guide had to unplug the battery, untangle and reconnect the cable a few times because it got tangled. The battery lasted for most testers 2 to 2.5 hours.
Good passthrough video, but not perfect
Vision Pro is a VR headset. You put it on and it completely blocks your view of the outside. The outside world is displayed as 3D video in real time. This Passthrough-Video According to The Verge, it works very well, but it has limitations. That’s part of it Motion Blur of the cameras, which increases in low light. Because the ISO value is increased, the real environment appears increasingly blurry in low light. If there are mixed lighting conditions, such as sunlight coming through a window into a moderately lit room, the headset would constantly turn the brightness of the displays brighter and darker as it tries to adjust to the brightness in the room.
Overall, the passthrough video is still the best The Verge has ever seen on a VR headset. CNBC also praises the passthrough video. It is better than the Quest 3: cleaner, sharper and lag-free.
Great displays, but narrow field of view
There is also a lot of praise for the screens. The 2 MicroOLED-Displays (one for each eye) are incredible, writes The Verge. The other testers also had a lot of positive words for the screens. The display is sharp, the colors are bright and accurate without being oversaturated.
But the representation is not perfect: that Field of vision is limited and e.g. significantly smaller than the 110 degrees of the cheaper Meta Quest 3. Color deviations and blurring are noticeable towards the edges, which makes the actual usable field of view even smaller, writes The Verge.
Speakers with virtual surround sound
The headset’s speakers are loud and have good quality, says The Verge. They convey a good one Spatial Soundi.e. the illusion of 3D sound.
However, the speakers emit a lot of the sound to the outside world. If you don’t want other people to listen (or feel bothered by the noise), you should Bluetooth headphones use. Tom’s Guide and CNBC also praised the good sound of the speakers and noted that a lot of the sound can also be heard by people around them.
Eyes on the outside display
The external display to show the person opposite Image of your own eyes According to The Verge, showing that you can see them and not be in virtual reality could have saved them. The outer glass is very reflective and the display is dark, so you can hardly see your eyes. “The idea that you can create eye contact with it is just fantasy.”
CNBC isn’t entirely thrilled with the outdoor display eyes either. “When my wife came into the picture, I took off the headset to talk.” The author, like Tom’s Guide, praises the effect of being in VR. When a person comes into the room, it is only shown as a kind of glow. If she is nearby and starts talking to you, she essentially breaks the representation of virtual reality.
Cnet still praises that Vision Pro has one Real-time alert when you get too close to real objects in the room or walls. The virtual reality or virtual objects then become transparent and the headset displays a warning.
Gesture control is not fully developed
The gesture control is criticized by The Verge. You can imagine it as moving the mouse cursor with your eyes and pressing the mouse buttons with your finger gestures. This works well, but in some situations not intuitive. On computers, we are used to typing without looking. And we can also use certain apps intuitively on our smartphones and concentrate on their content – without looking at the controls. That’s not possible with the Vision Pro.
Tom’s guide praises the general gesture control, considers it virtual keyboard but not satisfactory. You can only type slowly, letter by letter. Instead, voice input was increasingly used.
Cnet, like The Verge, often has unintentionally commands entered using gesture control. Both attribute this to the fact that some of the virtual controls are too small and too close together. CNBC, on the other hand, praises the gesture controls as easy to use and very precise.
visionOS: Virtual windows everywhere
visionOS was well received by all testers. One can any number of windows open and pin in the real world. So you can, for example. Open the browser in the kitchen, go watch a movie in the living room and when you go back to the kitchen later, the browser window is still there. In addition to the visionOS windows, a window with a iPad-App and the screen of a WiFi-connected one Macs are displayed. The Verge thinks it’s a shame that you can’t share the virtual windows with other Vision Pro users, for example to share a virtual workstation.
The Cnet author says he was shocked at how good it was virtual computers functions. Instead of typing on a Mac, he connected a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard and worked at a table – without a monitor. Although there were some small errors, it still shows what a future could look like in which there are no longer any monitors, laptops and PCs in the workplace. However, he also noticed that he had to give his eyes a break much more often than when he was working with a regular screen.
CNBC notes as a criticism that still many apps are missing, which you use on your smartphone or Mac. Popular mobile games would also be missing. The Verge is taking off VR fitness apps. In addition, there are hardly any applications in which the digital content actually interacts with the real environment. Vision Pro can therefore currently not sufficiently simulate an augmented reality headset, but is only a VR headset with passthrough video.
Watch films with the Vision Pro
Watching films with Vision Pro is very well received. Due to the different virtual cinemas and the good displays make it a lot of fun, writes The Verge. But here too you notice the heavy weight of the headset: after 30 minutes at the latest you want to take a break.
CNBC also liked watching Vision Pro films: “The virtual TV is better than the one I have in the living room.” Among other things, the test involved watching 4 NBA games at the same time with 4 virtual screens next to each other.
However, The Verge criticizes Vision Pro for not taking any measures against it VR motion sickness meets. The user is left to discover his or her own limits in virtual reality. The author, who describes himself as very experienced with virtual reality, had to stop playing the 3D version of Avatar: Way of the Water after 5 minutes due to VR motion sickness.
➤ Read more: Why there is no Netflix app for the Apple Vision Pro
3D photos and videos
Tom’s Guide praises the 3D photos and especially 3D videos that you can take of the outside world with Vision Pro. The author’s dogs would appear very lifelike in the videos. The effect is best when you stand still and the subjects move towards you and away from you.
For Cnet, the effect is far less impressive. It is also mentioned that the 3D videos only work well if the Room well lit or outdoors in daylight. For The Verge, the quality of the photos and videos you can take with Vision Pro is only mediocre.
Conclusions
The Verge gives the headset 7 out of 10 possible points. It has the best passthrough video and the best gesture control on the market, but neither is completely convincing. That’s why Vision Pro acts more like a developer kit so that developers can create useful apps and usage scenarios that can later be used with real augmented reality headsets.
The CNBC author would describe the Vision Pro kaufen, if you had the $3,500 left. He would even trade in his iPad Pro and MacBook Pro to reduce the purchase price. But it’s a niche product until Apple can release a Vision Pro that costs $2,000 or less.
For Toms Guide the only major negative is the Preis. The missing apps would be annoying here too, but they would probably be added later.
Cnet gives the Vision Pro 7.8 out of 10 points. The author says that Vision Pro is not a device he would recommend to friends or family. It is a device for people who work in the VR/AR/MR industry.
Unboxing and more videos
In addition to the written test reports, there are some YouTube videos that deal with the Vision Pro: