Review
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Apple Vision Pro review: I’ve been wearing hi-tech headset every day – there are three places I’m obsessed with using it
It even offers time travel – sort of
I FIRST strapped it to my head – only briefly – a year ago and was amazed.
Now it's no longer a secret. In fact, it's for sale. A year on, I'm testing (and wearing) the Apple Vision Pro every day – and I'm just as mesmerised.
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Few gadgets are so relentlessly thrilling as Apple's first headset.
The sci-fi goggles are billed by the iPhone maker as a spatial computer.
In short, it’s a computer that lives around you, rather than its visuals being squeezed through a small display.
The apps float in the air like in Minority Report, but much better-looking.
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Of course you’re still technically looking through screens, but they’re so close to your eyes (and so pixel-dense) that you almost forget entirely that what you’re seeing isn’t “real”.
The Vision Pro headset is finally landing in the UK and I’ve been testing it for about a week.
It’s a proper gadget. The sort of gadget you get excited about receiving and want to tell everyone you’ve got. Opening it is very it’s-Christmas-morning – and someone has clearly been very generous with Santa's cookies this year.
Firstly, I should note that it’s physically beautiful.
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It’s the least awkward looking headset that you can buy right now.
That’s important because if you’re going to be wearing this often – and possibly in public – then you don’t want to look daft.
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And if you are worried about looking like a crazed visitor from the year 2093, don’t forget that it’ll start to look better too. As more people use it, it’ll seem less jarring to see. You might even call it cool.
Remember how the AirPods were mocked when they launched? Now they’re a cultural icon.
It feels good, too. The standard Solo Knit Band that keeps it on your head is wide, soft, and doesn’t dig in.
The headset feels balanced and secure too, which is good because it’s an expensive bit of kit to drop.
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There’s also a Dual Loop Band that is supposed to give a more precise fit. It does, but I prefer the ease and feel of the regular band.
Anyway, it’s on, my prescription lenses are in, and I hit go.
Wow. Floating windows. I can pinch my fingers as they rest on my leg to control the virtual things I’m seeing. It's been ten seconds and I'm sold.
Set-up is familiarly Apple: you get a little intro, then you sign in to your Apple ID, start adding credit cards to the Wallet and so on.
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You also get an opportunity to scan your face for a digital Persona that you can use for calling people. It takes about 30 seconds and you can do it at any point. Mine looked alright, though my 3D clone probably won’t have a career as a virtual model.
Once it’s on and you’re through set-up, you start to notice the quality of the visuals you’re seeing.
Everything is sharp and rich and detailed – almost impossibly so.
For that, we have to thank a custom-built display system that serves up more pixels than a 4K TV per eye. Around 23 million pixels in fact, according to Apple.
Apple Vision Pro tech specs – the geeky stats
The hardware details you're looking for...
Storage: 256GB / 512GB / 1TB
Display: Micro OLED 3D display system (23 million pixels)
Refresh Rates: 90Hz / 96Hz / 100Hz
Processor: 8-core M2 CPU (with 10-core GPU) + R1 coprocessor
Camera:
- Stereoscopic 3D main camera system
- Spatial photo and video capture
- 18 mm, ƒ/2.00 aperture
- 6.5 stereo megapixels
Sensors:
- Two high‑resolution main cameras
- Six world‑facing tracking cameras
- Four eye‑tracking cameras
- TrueDepth camera
- LiDAR Scanner
- Four inertial measurement units (IMUs)
- Flicker sensor
- Ambient light sensor
Audio:
- Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking
- Personalized Spatial Audio and audio ray tracing
- Six‑mic array with directional beamforming
- Supports H2‑to‑H2 ultra‑low‑latency connection to AirPods Pro (2nd generation) with MagSafe Charging Case (USB‑C)
Battery: Up to 2 hours of general use / 2.5 hours of video watching
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.3
Input:
- Hands
- Eyes
- Voice
Supported Input Accessories:
- Keyboards
- Trackpads
- Game controllers
Weight: 600 to 650 grams (21.2 to 22.9 ounces)
Menus, icons, pictures and videos are presented with an incredible realism.
And you’re also seeing your real world too, beautifully rendered by the Vision Pro. In fact it’s so detailed that at times, it’s easy to forget that you’re not actually seeing the world – just a replica.
Then you start navigating and you realise that the Vision Pro knows where you’re looking.
Built-in eye-tracking enables a very natural way of controlling the content in front of you.
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You simply gaze at an app and pinch your fingers in the air to open it.
Similar pinches allow you to drag content around or scroll up and down. It’s very natural, and easy to grasp even if you’re not tech-savvy.
VIRTUALLY REAL
So what is this posh bit of face gear actually good for?
The main benefit, as far as I can tell, is watching telly. To be more precise: watching TV on frankly enormous virtual screens that I could never fit in my home. Not on a journalist salary.
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I can put them in weird places too. I never realized I wanted a 100-inch display on my ceiling. But I do. And I can have it there in an instant – and gone the next, without worrying about it falling down on me after I finish an episode of Ted Lasso.
The Apple TV app even has a feature that lets you sit yourself in a cinema, with the opportunity to choose any row that you like.
And because it’s a spatial computer, 3D movies look fantastic. I tried watching a bit of Avengers: Endgame on Disney+ and it was much better than watching on a flat screen in the living room.
By extension, basically anything that benefits from a big screen is great on Vision Pro.
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For instance, playing video games (there’s support for joypads!) or looking at your photos.
In fact, if you’ve taken Panorama images then you see them in an immersive wraparound view.
It’s important to point out that the Vision Pro is also a camera, not just a screen.
You can use it to take Spatial Photos and Spatial Videos that introduce a 3D element.
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So you can capture your memories in exceptional detail, and with a depth that makes it feel like you could reach out and touch what you’re seeing.
This is very moving. It doesn't take much mind-stretching to imagine situations where someone's family collection of Spatial Videos becomes the most valuable album they have.
It’s really cool, and is going to get even better. More on that later.
Working in it feels great too, which my employer will probably be glad to hear.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
Here's what's inside your Apple Vision Pro box...
Apple Vision Pro headset (with Light Seal, Light Seal Cushion, and Solo Knit Band)
Headset cover
Dual Loop Band
Light Seal Cushion
Battery
Polishing Cloth
30W USB-C Power Adapter
USB-C Charge Cable (1.5m)
It’s a nice bonus use, especially if you’re trying to work somewhere busy and distracting and want to shut the world out.
You can have a load of different screens up, and surround yourself with a beautiful scene that makes you forget you’re actually sitting in an office in a city – and you’ve still got that commute to do.
There's a virtual keyboard that you can tap. It's fine for typing in a quick query, but it's hard to make a floating keypad work well.
I found myself using voice search a lot of the time – and for work, you'll simply want to connect a Mac keyboard. A real one.
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Anyway, less about work – and back to escaping reality.
It’s not just visuals that create a sense of immersion.
The headset also serves up an incredible Spatial Audio soundscape that makes it feel like you’re sitting in the midst of a proper surround sound system.
You can also chuck in some AirPods Pro for an even better experience, but the regular audio is compelling on its own.
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And it's also worth adding that the Vision Pro sort of "remembers" your space. So I could leave a virtual window floating in the kitchen, and then come back from the bedroom and it's there.
If I wanted to, I could even walk behind it. Cool.
NUMBER ONE
The Apple Vision Pro isn’t perfect.
It can’t be, because ultimately it’s a first-generation device and will get better over time.
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Just look at how much the iPhone has changed, and that’s still only been out since about 2007. Today’s smartphones are worlds apart from those original devices.
But what’s important is that the Vision Pro is extremely polished for a version-one device.
Apple has taken so much of what it has learned from making other gadgets and poured it into this computing beast.
We’re not starting from scratch here. The Vision Pro stands on the shoulders of giants.
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So what’s not good?
Battery life could always be better. You get about two-and-a-half hours per charge, and can keep using it while the pack is plugged in too.
I haven't ran this down yet. It's hard to imagine needing to spend more than that time in the headset.
The only example I could think of is if you really wanted to detach from reality on a long flight. Some people will want this. Pray your plane has plug sockets if you're trying to watch Lord of the Rings in full. Most movies are manageable, however.
Apple Vision Pro pricing – how much does it cost?
Here's what you'll pay...
In the United Kingdom:
Apple Vision Pro 256GB / 512GB / 1TB – £3,499 / £3,699 / £3,899
Zeiss Optical Inserts (optional) Readers / Prescription – £99 / £149
AppleCare+ protection – £499
In the United States:
Apple Vision Pro 256GB / 512GB / 1TB – $3,499 / $3,699 / $3,899
Zeiss Optical Inserts (optional) Readers / Prescription – $99 / $149
AppleCare+ protection – $499
Additionally, the battery attaches to the headset via a cable.
It doesn't particularly get in the way and keeps the weight of the Vision Pro down – but hopefully in the future battery tech can evolve to the point where Apple can cram it into the headset without significant size or weight gain.
And even though I love the Vision Pro, there are some times when I just don’t want to wear it.
It was absolutely phenomenal on an airplane: with AirPods in and a cinema view, I pretty much forgot I was crammed into economy seats.
This might even one of the best places to use it. A miserable three-and-a-half hours made totally brilliant thanks to Apple Vision Pro.
But if I'm looking to watch TV at home with my wife, there’s no point in wearing the goggles.
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Its capacity to show you media is incredible – but only really has value when I want to view that media alone.
For instance, it's great for watching a movie when someone is sleeping nearby. A pair of headphones means you can have a private cinema without disturbing anyone.
It’s generally not a super social device, but that’s an inherent problem with all headsets.
In any case, Apple does a great job of making it less isolating than you might think.
For a start, a spin of the Digital Crown atop the headset lets you draw in or shut out the outside world, visually.
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The EyeSight feature shows your eyes on the outside so other people can get an idea of whether you’re fully immersed or not.
And you can mirror your Vision Pro view on a nearby iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV so friends or family can see what you’re looking at.
All of this solves many of the problems you’d traditionally associate with headsets.
It’s also worth pointing out that the Vision Pro is about to get better.
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Later this year, Apple will roll out visionOS 2 with a number of updates.
The big one that you should actually care about is the ability to turn your old images into Spatial Photos.
This means you can literally step back into memories from years – or even decades – ago.
You can re-visit a time before the iPhone ever existed, or even the computer.
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It’s not quite time travel, but it should feel a little bit like that.
I-BUY?
The sticking point for most people will, of course, be the price.
It’s wildly expensive compared to most electronics that you’d buy at £3,499 (and $3,499 in the U.S.). Most people will never have dropped so much cash on a single gadget.
But it’s also important to remember that just because something costs a lot of money doesn’t mean you’re not getting good value for your money.
WHERE AM I USING IT? MY TOP THREE PICKS
Here are my three favourite places to wear the Apple Vision Pro so far...
Airplanes:
I was lucky enough to have a flight booked during the review period for the headset. Pure chance, but I'm glad it worked out.
Donning the headset on a plane is incredible – especially with headphones in.
Screaming children and claustrophobic economy seating begone. In an instant, no less.
And who cares if people look at you funny? Swizzle a dial and they vanish from view.
My balcony:
I live in an apartment – space comes at a premium.
Thankfully I have a small balcony that has a decent view, but there's not a lot to do there.
Well, not anymore. I can now stick an absolutely enormous screen in the sky and turn my humble outdoor space into a floating outdoor cinema.
While working:
I write for a living, which I like to think is extremely mentally taxing.
Penning stunning copy like this isn't easy. I need distraction-free space to get my very valuable thoughts down on paper. The world needs to hear what I think when I touch gadgets, after all.
In all seriousness, the Vision Pro is a great way to get a bit of focus time. Plop yourself down in a virtual desert, mirror your computer screen, and tap away in peace.
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If you’re a serious TV or movie fan with cash to spare then you could easily justify buying the Vision Pro as much as you would a massive 4K OLED television.
In some ways, it's even better than being at the cinema because it's totally your space.
You can imagine a future decades from now where the Vision Pro 29 is little more than a contact lens – or exists only as a chip in your brain – with a tiny price tag to boot.
But with the technology currently available to us in 2024, the Vision Pro feels as though it has surprisingly little to improve on.
It looks fantastic, delivers immersive and captivating spatial computing, and has enough battery life to last as long as you’re likely to wear it each day.
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The Sun says: Wearing the Apple Vision Pro feels like you're trying a gadget that won't exist for another 10 years. But it does exist, and it's extremely cool – if you have have the requisite dosh.
All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Always do your own research before making any purchase.
Apple Vision Pro is in stores in the UK from Friday, July 12 – and is already available in the US.
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