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If you’ve been following my Vision Pro journey, I’ve got some good news. Today, I’m not going to talk about the weight of the device or the inability to drink from a mug of coffee while wearing it.
Instead, I’m going to give you five things I love about Apple’s spatial computer.
As I’ve said many a time, this is the start of a long road and one which I’m going to follow every step of the way.
Apple hasn’t revealed its ultimate goal for visionOS and spatial computing – that isn’t how Tim Cook and co. operate. But they have given us the biggest glimpse at how future generations will work and play, digitally.
Let’s start there.
1. Vision Pro transports you into the future
My parents visited last weekend, and as is now customary with any family gathering, I took the opportunity to introduce them to Vision Pro.
My mum and dad love technology – I think it’s partly why I’ve ended up in this job. It’s also why watching them marvel at every Vision Pro experience was a rather lovely thing.
“Oh wow,” my mum kept saying. “I can’t get over this, Mark.”
“There’s an F1 car in your living room!” exclaimed Dad.
That experience on Sunday night was transformative for them and I’m glad they got to experience it during their lifetime. It’s why I’d urge anyone reading this who either knows someone with Vision Pro or who lives near an Apple Store that has the demo to go and check it out.
The challenge is explaining what it’s like to use visionOS. The screen recordings look nothing like the experience you’re dealt when you put the Vision Pro headset on – it’s impossible to recreate that volumetric environment in any other way, unfortunately.
With that in mind, you’ll just have to take my word for it that this is the future, and it’s a future where we’ll never need a smartphone ever again.
2. Vision Pro makes 3D movies enjoyable (again)
I completely forgot that Vision Pro is capable of playing 3D movies until recently when I headed into the Disney+ app and stuck on Jon Favreau’s reimagining of The Lion King.
It was breathtaking. A solitary experience, yes – but if you fancy watching a movie on your own, there’s nothing quite like it.
More importantly, Vision Pro makes 3D movies enjoyable again. Most of us have experienced 3D movies in cinemas; it requires glasses and higher entrance fees. It’s consequently an expensive faff*, and, in my experience, not as impressive as one might hope.
On Vision Pro, 3D movies come to life. The fact you can place your own private cinema screen in your own private version of a snow-covered Yosemite is the literal icing on a very satisfying cake.
*I’m aware of the irony here
3. Vision Pro is a brilliant Mac companion
The most common question I’m asked about Vision Pro is whether or not I’m actually using it. More specifically, am I using it in a way that doesn’t feel forced?
Basically, how far away is Vision Pro from being slung into the “that was cool but useless” drawer?
It’s a fair question.
The answer is simple: I’m using it most days. I also think I’m nearing the point where New Gear Syndrome is dissipating. And, yes, I’m fully aware that the £3,678.41 I paid to import Vision Pro into the UK will inevitably be a factor in my desire to put it to consistent use.
However, the main reason I’m still using Vision Pro is because of its integration with the Mac. The ability to detach the display from my MacBook and place it inside visionOS is incredibly useful – particularly if I need more screen estate while editing videos at home.
There’s another reason I’m using it regularly, though.
4. Vision Pro is the best space for deep work
Every morning, I head downstairs at around 6am to begin work. Coffee in hand, I sit at the breakfast table and write that day’s blog post. I’m doing it now; as I type, it’s 6:54am and I’m ploughing through the words you’re reading.
It’s the time of the day when I feel most inspired and creative. There’s some science involved in this, apparently – something to do with your brain still being in a dream state that fosters creativity. Whatever it is, I can confirm that it works, even though I am categorically not a morning person.
Up until now, my writing setup has been my trusty MacBook Air, the Ulysses writing app, a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, and Brain.fm. It has enabled me to lock myself away and enter a state of deep work.
This setup has been bolstered by Vision Pro. With Apple’s headset strapped to my face, I can detach my MacBook display and place it within a spatial environment. Combined with the aforementioned tools, it has added another layer of immersion and focus. Put simply, Vision Pro transports me into a virtual world where I have no choice but to fall into a state of deep work; there are literally no distractions.
If you’re a writer, or undertake any form of work which requires you to switch off from everything, I don’t think there’s a better tool for the job.
5. The potential for third-party Vision Pro apps is HUGE
I’m conscious that I’m possibly leaning a little too heavily on Vision Pro’s integration with the Mac. Beyond that, there’s a whole world of visionOS apps to be explored.
The slight fly in the ointment is that I’m based in the UK and, at the time of writing, you can’t buy Vision Pro over here. To add stuff from the App Store, I have to sign out of my UK Apple ID, and then sign into the US Apple ID I created specially for the headset. That’s a faff.
However, I should put my big boy pants on and do it more often, because it’s clear that the potential for developers to make serious use of visionOS is significant. The big question is how many will actually do so. Is it too early? Is the audience too small?
I promise I’ll dive in more and report back.
Wrapping up
The noise surrounding the launch of Vision Pro has died down to nothing more than the occasional murmur from people like myself who are still using it. Countless headsets have been returned, every reviewer has had their say, and even Apple has gone very quiet on the matter (save for the release of a bug fix-focused visionOS 1.1 release).
However, that only serves to illustrate how tentative this journey into spatial computing is – and should be. All I know is that, beyond the numerous and obvious problems with Vision Pro, lies something very special indeed.
I just wish I could drink my coffee more easily while wearing it.
Sorry – couldn’t resist.
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