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I’m sitting here writing this blog post on Monday, 12th February 2024. As I type, UPS has cleared a package for customs and is suggesting that it’ll reach my doorstep by noon.
It was last scanned in Louisville in the United States, yesterday, at 7:37 pm. How it’s going to make its way across the Atlantic Ocean and to my house in Leamington Spa in such a short period is anyone’s guess. It’s also why I’m nervously optimistic about that delivery window.
I’m nervous because inside that package resides a product that is unlike anything I’ve reviewed before. When it was announced last year, I made jokes about it and suggested that it was Tim Cook’s biggest punt of his career so far. We were a long, long way from this thing having a meaningful impact on regular human life, I said.
So, this begs one very big question: why am I so excited about this impending Apple Vision Pro delivery?
There’s going to be a ‘wow’ moment (obvs)
Strip away all of my preconceptions about Vision Pro, and one fact remains: this looks like a seriously cool piece of tech. My first experience of visionOS is going to be amazing – guaranteed. It’s what Apple does best, after all.
I’ve purposefully avoided all of the review, demonstration, and ‘I wore Vision Pro for a day while <insert any regular activity here>’ videos. I always do this before I review anything, but it feels more important this time. This is a new era for Apple – it is their take on where we’ll head once the iPhone, iPad, and, possibly, the Mac, are but distant memories. I need to approach it with fresh eyes – literally.
There is one thing I can predict with Vision Pro: there’s going to be a ‘wow’ moment. I think that’s inevitable. Although I’ve done my best to avoid consuming content about the headset, it has been impossible to miss the reactions from those who have tried it. Short-form video platforms and X are awash with people claiming that Vision Pro is genuinely mind-blowing. The immersion, eye-tracking, and otherworldly nature of visionOS seem to be universally accepted as being unlike anything else out there.
The big question is: how long will that last, and what lies beyond?
What happens beyond the ‘wow’ Vision Pro moment?
This is where I put my reality hat back on (if you’ll excuse the genuinely unintended pun).
Many have suggested that this first version of Vision Pro is simply a publicly available developer unit, and I agree with that, to a degree. It is super-expensive, and even Tim Cook has said that it’s priced as such because Vision Pro gives people the chance to experience tomorrow’s technology, today. I don’t think Apple has ever said that before about any other product.
This isn’t a product for the masses. It’s also an entirely different way of interacting with your digital life. The battery life isn’t what you’d call stellar – it certainly isn’t all day. Vision Pro is also, apparently, very heavy and, regardless of its ability to combine virtual with, erm, ‘real’, reality – it does close you off from the rest of the world. It also looks ridiculous. Sorry, but it does.
I don’t know about you, but I’m rather bored of seeing people walk around shopping centres, airports, and coffee shops with that thing strapped to their faces. One guy even turned up to an interview on Apple’s Beats radio station this weekend wearing it. And didn’t take it off. So, I have no idea who he was or if he was famous. It could have been Prince William, for all I know.
I’m far more interested in Vision Pro beyond these daft demonstrations of how stupid you can look in public testing something that very few people are going to get to experience. I want to know how it can slot into my day, both personally and professionally.
Am I going to feel tempted to use it to consume content my girlfriend has no interest in watching, rather than resorting to the iPad? Could the level of immersion Vision Pro offers be the perfect addition to my already tightly honed daily writing routine? Will I use it rather than my big BENQ monitor in the studio for editing videos? I have so many questions.
I’ve spotted several posts on social media from people saying that they’re struggling to find ways to naturally integrate Vision Pro into their own lives. That bothers me. As a tech reviewer, I’m lucky enough to try all sorts of cool stuff, but there are only a handful of devices and gadgets that have a lasting impact. Will Vision Pro fall into that category, or become something I have to force myself to use to create content that in some way justifies the huge investment I’ve made?
I genuinely don’t know the answer to these questions, which is why I’m so excited to find out and share the journey with you.
My Vision Pro plan
The only video I will watch before my exciting delivery is the guide made by Tausif Hussain on how to make Vision Pro work outside of the US. As has been made abundantly clear by Apple’s terms and conditions, Vision Pro isn’t meant to be used outside of the US – until an official worldwide launch.
Tausif (who’s a lovely guy, by the way – I met him at CES in Las Vegas last month) appears to have found a workaround for most of the regional restrictions that exist if you’re not a US Apple customer. Therefore, my first port of call will be to ensure I’m up to speed with what I need to do to make Vision Pro work as effectively as possible in the UK.
The first video I make about Vision Pro is likely to be one of the most chaotic and non-sensical pieces of content I’ve published thus far on YouTube. Nothing will be scripted, and there won’t be any form of plan, apart from unboxing the headset and filming myself experiencing it for the first time. I think this will be valuable to anyone who wants to put themselves in the shoes of a Vision Pro owner, whether they’re thinking about parting with that colossal amount of cash or not.
I will then use Vision Pro. As mentioned earlier, my biggest fear is that this will feel like an effort, but I genuinely hope that isn’t the case; I want Vision Pro to find a natural spot within my tech arsenal that has a measurable, positive impact on my productivity and enjoyment of both work and personal pursuits. There’s a good chance it will, but there’s an equal chance that it’ll gather more dust than it should.
Regardless, this is why I started this business and why I was so focused on becoming a full-time tech reviewer. It’s exciting, and it certainly beats waiting for the next iPhone.
Wrapping up
I’ll be covering my Vision Pro journey on these pages, of course, but also in detail on my YouTube channel. If you’re not already subscribed, head over there and hit that bell so as not to miss what is going to be, I think, a visual feast (if only for the prospect of seeing my weird minion-like Vision Pro eyes).
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