Yes. I spend maybe half of the year (on average) away from home, traveling with my MacBook. I bought the Vision Pro to use as a portable display, and I’ve been extremely happy with it. I work in it about 8 hours per day whenever I’m away from my home office setup, and quite often even when I’m at home.
Having an enormous virtual screen is not the only benefit, I also feel that the immersion helps my focus. It’s easier to get into the zone than ever before. I remember someone describing the Vision Pro as the equivalent of noise-canceling headphones for the eyes, which is spot on. I suppose I am lucky that I don’t have any problems with the weight of the comfort, except on hot days.
I’ve been an Apple enthusiast since the 1980s, but I can’t even remember the last time I was as excited about an Apple product as I am about the Vision Pro. I hope it will survive, come down in price, and launch in more countries.
I don't own Apple Vision Pro, but I tested them two times already and I'm amazed by the technology. I honestly think it's the future. We're probably WAY too early yet, and the Vision Pro might fail badly, but it is indeed the future.
I did a special test session in Japan for "productivity" (the guys at the Apple Store were very friendly and agreed to let me install VSCode and Ghostty on the testing laptop. I cloned an open source repository and spent ~20 minutes just coding.
It was FANTASTIC. The Apple Store was full and I could still "black out" the noise and completely immersed myself in the experience.
I'm seriously considering buying a pair now, but I'm just concerned about the under-investment in the sector.
Regardless, I honestly think it's the future, maybe in 10/20 years, but it'll be the norm.
The project has not been scraped or scrapped. Any outlet that reported that walked it back. It’s reportedly put on hold while they work on the glasses. Its fate might ultimately end up all the same.
I own a AVP and it’s super niche. Can’t blame Apple for putting their attention on the more wearable glasses form factor.
Also, in the year that I’ve owned my AVP I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve been in full VR/immersive. And I use it everyday.
It is obviously walked waaaayyy back from the original plans, and any hype is well and truly dead. AR/VR in general are a tech dead end that sounds cool to some sci-fi enthusiasts and has some niche entertainment applications, but that's inevitably it, every time it rears its head.
> I don't think people want to live in a fake world.
yeah that's why escapist hobbies , movies & video games do so poorly.
it's not even 'another world' , it's just a slightly different kind of screen, one that you wear. You get to use it for what you want -- maybe escapism is that thing -- but we'd never say that some beancounter working on an excel sheet is living in a fake world (although you should say that wrt a few of them..)
There is a huge difference though, and I say that as someone who started his career as a VR dev.
Unless you life fully alone, there is definitely a different level of vulnerability and isolation in effectively blindfolding yourself that is very hard to ignore. Even after months working daily using these devices, it still felt awkward to sink into one in an open plan office. I can't imagine doing it in a living room while your family is around, or near roommates, or a plane.
I’ve never met anyone in real life who enjoys a screen strapped to their face. No one I know ever talks about VR headsets as anything other than a novelty thing you do at the mall.
The only place I’ve ever seen anyone say positive things about VR is online.
I may be proven wrong but I’m convinced it’s a small minority who care about VR headsets, and a good portion of them seem to be the terminally online.
We will need some time to iterate on the form factor and user experience but it is hard to imagine a portable AR computer isn't the direction we're heading. While I truly appreciate the value of unplugging and doing things manually, it's hard to deny the utility of environmentally aware computation meshing with virtual work environments.
Arguably a true AR experience brings us MORE into the real world as the need to be rooted to a desk and cubicle is lessened and we're brought closer to product/client/stakeholder without sacrificing digital connectivity.
I think of the AVP like Steve Jobs once described: headphones for video [0]
I use it a few hours a day, a few times a week exclusively as a virtual display for my macbook.
Being able to put a huge virtual monitor anywhere is the killer feature and I don't tend to use it for anything else. It's indispensable on flights where laptop lids can't even fully open.
Apple got the interactions just about perfect for AR window management, etc.
Of course the main drawbacks are the weight, size, and overall embarrassment from having a giant face computer strapped to your head.
I don't find it very comfortable for more than a couple hours at time, at least with the solo knit band + the belkin head strap. I'd like to get a dual knit band at some point.
But when this sort of hardware gets miniaturized I think many people will prefer it to hunching over a laptop screen. Just like headphones, wearing glasses while typing at a black screen could signal "Do not disturb, I'm working here"
I'll work for 4+ hours straight in my Vision Pro when I'm on a plane or train, but when I'm in a less cramped place I'd rather just use a normal screen
If anything I think the Vision Pro is more discreet on a plane! No big bright screen to annoy or distract other passengers with, plus I can keep my laptop nearly clamshelled on my lap while I work without having to use the tray table
I'm also curious. I bought the cheap alternative: XReal One Pro and… it is kind of as expected. It is a cheap alternative. Don't expect to use it for coding for several hours a day, in spite of what people keep saying. The optics are not up to it: there are imperfections in the lenses resulting in blurry areas of the screen, very visible as you move your head around.
They are great for watching video, make for a fantastic travel accessory, and one can use them for coding in a pinch, but I honestly couldn't find a good reason to, when I have a perfectly good MacBook Pro screen right in front of me.
I would definitely pay more for glasses that would allow me to have a better virtual computer display. Perhaps not $3500, but $2000? The main reason why I didn't even consider Apple Vision Pro is because of its humongous size, weight and complexity — I don't want another computer with another (locked down) OS requiring updates and maintenance. I want things that do not require anything of me. This is why XReal glasses are so nice: they are just a display. No battery, no OS, no maintenance.
I bought the device 5 days ago! So far I like it. There are a few flaws (the most annoying being the glare visible when showing high contrast things, e.g. a movie on a dark background, and the text not being crisp for coding). I see myself working 4h+ a day on it though, yes, but it’s early to tell.
I hope they can figure out a cheaper and less bulky option. It's pretty cool to unlock the ability to have a screen and apps popping up in the real space without the constraint of a screen.
I would not pay all that money to have something on that is that bulky and get annoying after a couple of hours
I do 4 hours a day minimum. Typically the first part of my day where I tend to have no meetings and can wear it uninterrupted. I’m sure I can get the virtual persona working in Meet and Zoom but I don’t want to creep anyone out.
I’m in Ultrawide at 4k via a MBP or a Mac Mini. Wireless keyboard and wireless mouse. Typically multiple Ghostty windows open, an IDE, and a web browser with a bunch of tabs.
If I have a podcast, YouTube or music playing in the background I do so via the AVP directly via the native app.
Though I like virtual environments I don’t use them much. The amazing pass through (I have a Quest 3 and it’s not even remotely comparable) allows me to feel like I’m still IRL and be aware of my surroundings. And to see and interact with my wife who’s also remote if she happens to pass by. This need to touch grass is the same reason I typically don’t wear AirPods while in them. You can really get sucked in with virtual environments and AirPods on.
No eye strain issues. Have had 20/20 my entire life and a year in still 20/20. We’ll see. It does get a little sweaty/heavy. I have the Apple double knit and the CM Global or whatever it’s called.
I do have a decent office monitor setup with a 43” OLED and LG Dual-ups. I don’t use it much since getting the AVP as I like moving around the house.
I use it a few times a week for about that long, almost exclusively as a virtual display for my MacBook. I bought it mostly because I travel for work, and when I'm stuck in a hotel and want to work I wanted something similar to my big screens at home. It's also nice to be able to kick back and watch big screen movies or TV on travel too. Long usage is fine for me - with the inserts I have my computer glasses prescription so things look good.
I'm not, but is it yet possible to use the Vision Pro as a window manager for macOS? I'd totally get one if it were possible to lay out ordinary macOS windows in space rather than being confined to the simulation of a single rectangular screen.
On macOS, it is ultimately the app developer who is responsible for persisting and using state for windows, such as size and position. Think several terminal sessions - the terminal app needs to be the one to determine if it is representing the same 'session' as before after a restart.
If you are talking about remote display in a 3D space, the application would need to understand how to track and reopen a window in a particular location, and also there would need to be policy on how say a resize on the Vision Pro relates to the native window size once the Vision Pro is turned off.
This puts a lot of responsibility in the app developer's hands, where it is most likely not going to be accepted. So I would expect the experience to be sub-par.
There could be interesting workarounds for full-screen windows, since there are already the concepts of multiple heterogenous displays and display resolution changes on macOS. So you might have a screen, but the 'full screen' button is replaced by one which breaks the window out. The challenge would be making these persistent across connections to the Mac in a way that apps work well by default without picking up odd heuristics.
At least for now, no, it is not possible. I agree that what you describe is how it ought to work in an ideal world, but it would probably require some serious rethinking of macOS UI/UX in order to make it work. For instance, it is not obvious what’s the best way to transfer the dock and the menu bar to a screen-less environment.
A hybrid solution I would love to see would be to have the current virtual screen, but with the option of dragging individual windows out of the screen.
Yeah this seems like an obvious thing that would make it a lot more useful. Sad that Apple is barely scratching the surface of what’s possible, and it’s too closed for third-party developers to attempt to do anything like that.
So I was, for about a month. But I had to give it up due to, mainly, compatibility with MAM requirements for work and app quality. It’s so infuriating to me how good this hardware is yet how equally underinvested it is.
I do enjoy it when I’m in a work type that is well supported.
I would love deeper integration with macOS beyond just screen sharing too. Or alternatively a broader selection of native equivalent apps.
There also seems to be an odd standoff between Apple and the streaming apps, eg no native YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, etc. Not that it impacts work, but it impacts consumer adoption.
I’m very curious how this new era of Apple will respond…
> There also seems to be an odd standoff between Apple and the streaming apps, eg no native YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, etc
Apple made the bed when they openly were hostile to the developers. There's a reason why every platform courts the developers (Remember MS's "developers developers developers").
Apple could get away from being a jerk because the devices were attractive, and the distribution it offered was stellar. But it isnt the device that makes the platform successful, but the developers. And YouTube, Netflix, Spotify and the likes know this.
So when AVP came along, for the first time, the power dynamics shifted. They didnt have to rush to the platform. Why should all these companies bend over backwards to make Apple's device a successful. And if they do the work, they'll be even more beholden to Apple's whims.
So they decided to sit out. And cue the fall out.
AVP hardwar is brilliant, but Apple overplayed its hand.
>> There also seems to be an odd standoff between Apple and the streaming apps, eg no native YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, etc.
> Apple made the bed when they openly were hostile to the developers. There's a reason why every platform courts the developers (Remember MS's "developers developers developers").
This is about relationships between different big corporations who are all platform owners and competitors. Apple was never hostile to regular developers. Apple got from the beginning that app ecosystem and therefore devs is a must.
And in any case, AVP can't compete with iPhone, no one expected it at that price, and so developing apps for AVP would be a waste of time.
There’s a native YouTube app. And I don’t find myself missing the others. But besides the background noise from YouTube and Apple Music/Podcasts I don’t really consume media in mine. It’s a work tool.
Sad thing is, the current hardware would be perfectly fine if Apple committed themselves on the software side at the level Valve does for the Steam Frame.
Valve hasn't committed to making a mixed reality computing platform, and Apple hasn't come out with a gaming VR headset. Neither company wants to directly compete.
Yes. I spend maybe half of the year (on average) away from home, traveling with my MacBook. I bought the Vision Pro to use as a portable display, and I’ve been extremely happy with it. I work in it about 8 hours per day whenever I’m away from my home office setup, and quite often even when I’m at home.
Having an enormous virtual screen is not the only benefit, I also feel that the immersion helps my focus. It’s easier to get into the zone than ever before. I remember someone describing the Vision Pro as the equivalent of noise-canceling headphones for the eyes, which is spot on. I suppose I am lucky that I don’t have any problems with the weight of the comfort, except on hot days.
I’ve been an Apple enthusiast since the 1980s, but I can’t even remember the last time I was as excited about an Apple product as I am about the Vision Pro. I hope it will survive, come down in price, and launch in more countries.
[delayed]
I don't own Apple Vision Pro, but I tested them two times already and I'm amazed by the technology. I honestly think it's the future. We're probably WAY too early yet, and the Vision Pro might fail badly, but it is indeed the future.
I did a special test session in Japan for "productivity" (the guys at the Apple Store were very friendly and agreed to let me install VSCode and Ghostty on the testing laptop. I cloned an open source repository and spent ~20 minutes just coding.
It was FANTASTIC. The Apple Store was full and I could still "black out" the noise and completely immersed myself in the experience.
I'm seriously considering buying a pair now, but I'm just concerned about the under-investment in the sector.
Regardless, I honestly think it's the future, maybe in 10/20 years, but it'll be the norm.
I could spend 20 minutes coding in a headset but there's no way could I spend an hour doing it.
What makes it fantastic and the future? Your comment is just saying it’s great but doesn’t explain why
Funny you say it's the future when the project was scraped. I don't think people want to live in a fake world.
The project has not been scraped or scrapped. Any outlet that reported that walked it back. It’s reportedly put on hold while they work on the glasses. Its fate might ultimately end up all the same.
I own a AVP and it’s super niche. Can’t blame Apple for putting their attention on the more wearable glasses form factor.
Also, in the year that I’ve owned my AVP I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve been in full VR/immersive. And I use it everyday.
It is obviously walked waaaayyy back from the original plans, and any hype is well and truly dead. AR/VR in general are a tech dead end that sounds cool to some sci-fi enthusiasts and has some niche entertainment applications, but that's inevitably it, every time it rears its head.
It’s unlike Apple to be too early with something. Usually it’s the competition and they show how it should really be done.
I guess the main problem here is the price point, which will improve over time and with scale.
The Newton team might disagree.
> I don't think people want to live in a fake world.
yeah that's why escapist hobbies , movies & video games do so poorly.
it's not even 'another world' , it's just a slightly different kind of screen, one that you wear. You get to use it for what you want -- maybe escapism is that thing -- but we'd never say that some beancounter working on an excel sheet is living in a fake world (although you should say that wrt a few of them..)
There is a huge difference though, and I say that as someone who started his career as a VR dev.
Unless you life fully alone, there is definitely a different level of vulnerability and isolation in effectively blindfolding yourself that is very hard to ignore. Even after months working daily using these devices, it still felt awkward to sink into one in an open plan office. I can't imagine doing it in a living room while your family is around, or near roommates, or a plane.
I’ve never met anyone in real life who enjoys a screen strapped to their face. No one I know ever talks about VR headsets as anything other than a novelty thing you do at the mall.
The only place I’ve ever seen anyone say positive things about VR is online.
I may be proven wrong but I’m convinced it’s a small minority who care about VR headsets, and a good portion of them seem to be the terminally online.
We will need some time to iterate on the form factor and user experience but it is hard to imagine a portable AR computer isn't the direction we're heading. While I truly appreciate the value of unplugging and doing things manually, it's hard to deny the utility of environmentally aware computation meshing with virtual work environments.
Arguably a true AR experience brings us MORE into the real world as the need to be rooted to a desk and cubicle is lessened and we're brought closer to product/client/stakeholder without sacrificing digital connectivity.
I think of the AVP like Steve Jobs once described: headphones for video [0]
I use it a few hours a day, a few times a week exclusively as a virtual display for my macbook.
Being able to put a huge virtual monitor anywhere is the killer feature and I don't tend to use it for anything else. It's indispensable on flights where laptop lids can't even fully open.
Apple got the interactions just about perfect for AR window management, etc.
Of course the main drawbacks are the weight, size, and overall embarrassment from having a giant face computer strapped to your head.
I don't find it very comfortable for more than a couple hours at time, at least with the solo knit band + the belkin head strap. I'd like to get a dual knit band at some point.
But when this sort of hardware gets miniaturized I think many people will prefer it to hunching over a laptop screen. Just like headphones, wearing glasses while typing at a black screen could signal "Do not disturb, I'm working here"
[0] Steve Jobs on Virtual Reality (D3, 2005) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQECSInWVPY
I'll work for 4+ hours straight in my Vision Pro when I'm on a plane or train, but when I'm in a less cramped place I'd rather just use a normal screen
That’s interesting. I’ve yet to wear it around any other human beings other than my immediate family.
I’m also more than happy breaking it out in my hotel room.
Couldn’t imagine wearing it on a plane or train and would rather use my much more discreet laptop directly.
If anything I think the Vision Pro is more discreet on a plane! No big bright screen to annoy or distract other passengers with, plus I can keep my laptop nearly clamshelled on my lap while I work without having to use the tray table
People definitely notice the person with the unusual things strapped to their face.
They notice, but aren’t inconvenienced (I guess? Don’t own one and haven’t seen one on a plane)
I'm also curious. I bought the cheap alternative: XReal One Pro and… it is kind of as expected. It is a cheap alternative. Don't expect to use it for coding for several hours a day, in spite of what people keep saying. The optics are not up to it: there are imperfections in the lenses resulting in blurry areas of the screen, very visible as you move your head around.
They are great for watching video, make for a fantastic travel accessory, and one can use them for coding in a pinch, but I honestly couldn't find a good reason to, when I have a perfectly good MacBook Pro screen right in front of me.
I would definitely pay more for glasses that would allow me to have a better virtual computer display. Perhaps not $3500, but $2000? The main reason why I didn't even consider Apple Vision Pro is because of its humongous size, weight and complexity — I don't want another computer with another (locked down) OS requiring updates and maintenance. I want things that do not require anything of me. This is why XReal glasses are so nice: they are just a display. No battery, no OS, no maintenance.
I bought the device 5 days ago! So far I like it. There are a few flaws (the most annoying being the glare visible when showing high contrast things, e.g. a movie on a dark background, and the text not being crisp for coding). I see myself working 4h+ a day on it though, yes, but it’s early to tell.
I hope they can figure out a cheaper and less bulky option. It's pretty cool to unlock the ability to have a screen and apps popping up in the real space without the constraint of a screen.
I would not pay all that money to have something on that is that bulky and get annoying after a couple of hours
I do 4 hours a day minimum. Typically the first part of my day where I tend to have no meetings and can wear it uninterrupted. I’m sure I can get the virtual persona working in Meet and Zoom but I don’t want to creep anyone out.
I’m in Ultrawide at 4k via a MBP or a Mac Mini. Wireless keyboard and wireless mouse. Typically multiple Ghostty windows open, an IDE, and a web browser with a bunch of tabs.
If I have a podcast, YouTube or music playing in the background I do so via the AVP directly via the native app.
Though I like virtual environments I don’t use them much. The amazing pass through (I have a Quest 3 and it’s not even remotely comparable) allows me to feel like I’m still IRL and be aware of my surroundings. And to see and interact with my wife who’s also remote if she happens to pass by. This need to touch grass is the same reason I typically don’t wear AirPods while in them. You can really get sucked in with virtual environments and AirPods on.
No eye strain issues. Have had 20/20 my entire life and a year in still 20/20. We’ll see. It does get a little sweaty/heavy. I have the Apple double knit and the CM Global or whatever it’s called.
I do have a decent office monitor setup with a 43” OLED and LG Dual-ups. I don’t use it much since getting the AVP as I like moving around the house.
I use it a few times a week for about that long, almost exclusively as a virtual display for my MacBook. I bought it mostly because I travel for work, and when I'm stuck in a hotel and want to work I wanted something similar to my big screens at home. It's also nice to be able to kick back and watch big screen movies or TV on travel too. Long usage is fine for me - with the inserts I have my computer glasses prescription so things look good.
I'm not, but is it yet possible to use the Vision Pro as a window manager for macOS? I'd totally get one if it were possible to lay out ordinary macOS windows in space rather than being confined to the simulation of a single rectangular screen.
No , at least not yet.
On macOS, it is ultimately the app developer who is responsible for persisting and using state for windows, such as size and position. Think several terminal sessions - the terminal app needs to be the one to determine if it is representing the same 'session' as before after a restart.
If you are talking about remote display in a 3D space, the application would need to understand how to track and reopen a window in a particular location, and also there would need to be policy on how say a resize on the Vision Pro relates to the native window size once the Vision Pro is turned off.
This puts a lot of responsibility in the app developer's hands, where it is most likely not going to be accepted. So I would expect the experience to be sub-par.
There could be interesting workarounds for full-screen windows, since there are already the concepts of multiple heterogenous displays and display resolution changes on macOS. So you might have a screen, but the 'full screen' button is replaced by one which breaks the window out. The challenge would be making these persistent across connections to the Mac in a way that apps work well by default without picking up odd heuristics.
At least for now, no, it is not possible. I agree that what you describe is how it ought to work in an ideal world, but it would probably require some serious rethinking of macOS UI/UX in order to make it work. For instance, it is not obvious what’s the best way to transfer the dock and the menu bar to a screen-less environment.
A hybrid solution I would love to see would be to have the current virtual screen, but with the option of dragging individual windows out of the screen.
Yeah this seems like an obvious thing that would make it a lot more useful. Sad that Apple is barely scratching the surface of what’s possible, and it’s too closed for third-party developers to attempt to do anything like that.
I'm curious if anyone is using the competing Samsung Galaxy XR headset with similar display resolution as a monitor replacement also.
I far prefer my Viture XR glasses to the vision pro. Pretty sure this was also the case in 2024 :)
So I was, for about a month. But I had to give it up due to, mainly, compatibility with MAM requirements for work and app quality. It’s so infuriating to me how good this hardware is yet how equally underinvested it is.
I do enjoy it when I’m in a work type that is well supported.
I would love deeper integration with macOS beyond just screen sharing too. Or alternatively a broader selection of native equivalent apps.
There also seems to be an odd standoff between Apple and the streaming apps, eg no native YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, etc. Not that it impacts work, but it impacts consumer adoption.
I’m very curious how this new era of Apple will respond…
> There also seems to be an odd standoff between Apple and the streaming apps, eg no native YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, etc
Apple made the bed when they openly were hostile to the developers. There's a reason why every platform courts the developers (Remember MS's "developers developers developers").
Apple could get away from being a jerk because the devices were attractive, and the distribution it offered was stellar. But it isnt the device that makes the platform successful, but the developers. And YouTube, Netflix, Spotify and the likes know this.
So when AVP came along, for the first time, the power dynamics shifted. They didnt have to rush to the platform. Why should all these companies bend over backwards to make Apple's device a successful. And if they do the work, they'll be even more beholden to Apple's whims.
So they decided to sit out. And cue the fall out.
AVP hardwar is brilliant, but Apple overplayed its hand.
>> There also seems to be an odd standoff between Apple and the streaming apps, eg no native YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, etc.
> Apple made the bed when they openly were hostile to the developers. There's a reason why every platform courts the developers (Remember MS's "developers developers developers").
This is about relationships between different big corporations who are all platform owners and competitors. Apple was never hostile to regular developers. Apple got from the beginning that app ecosystem and therefore devs is a must.
And in any case, AVP can't compete with iPhone, no one expected it at that price, and so developing apps for AVP would be a waste of time.
There’s a native YouTube app. And I don’t find myself missing the others. But besides the background noise from YouTube and Apple Music/Podcasts I don’t really consume media in mine. It’s a work tool.
Is Apple Vision Pro still alive, or is it on life support?
They'd need to bring out a perfected version with technology that does not exist at an impossibly low price point to bring it back to life.
Sad thing is, the current hardware would be perfectly fine if Apple committed themselves on the software side at the level Valve does for the Steam Frame.
Valve hasn't committed to making a mixed reality computing platform, and Apple hasn't come out with a gaming VR headset. Neither company wants to directly compete.
AI is soaking up all kinds of capital, even money that used to go into VR.
Next thread’s the winner, for sure.
Edit: Being serious…the big players have all began taking AR seriously verrry recently.
Now they need to release hardware.
I already don’t own an AVP and look forward to also not buying the next gen they come out with.
If it wasn’t hampered by iOS and could run more than just the app store then maybe.