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I’ve seen a couple of posts on X recently from people questioning whether or not Apple will eventually cancel Vision Pro.
This seems a bit premature, don’t you think?
Equally, I can see where they’re coming from.
Without wanting to sound too patronising (it’s admittedly tricky when you’re a Vision Pro owner), until you strap that thing to your face, it’s hard to offer an opinion on it which is based on anything other than conjecture.
When you try Vision Pro for the first time, you may gasp in amazement. You might hate it. You might be bowled over and think that spatial computing is suddenly the destination for us all. You might be initially impressed and then ponder what on earth its purpose is.
There are hundreds of different opinions on what this thing is all about, but you do need to experience it.
The good news – given its colossal price and limited availability at the time of writing – is that I am experiencing it daily. Admittedly, that means I’ve already answered the question posed below, but… well, who cares – let’s get into this.
Am I still using Vision Pro?
My podcast co-host, Rob, asked this question on a recent episode of Eight or Sixteen.
Am I still using Vision Pro – and, if so, is it being shoehorned into my daily routine?
The answer is yes… and, possibly.
I’ve noted recently that I’m putting Vision Pro to use each day by connecting it to my Mac. This enables me to ‘detach’ the 14-inch display from the MacBook Pro and place it in a spatial environment, complete with a volumetric backdrop of Mount Hood and the sound of spatial audio-equipped birds tweeting.
This offers two use cases. The first is when I’m writing; the ability to close myself off from the outside world and be transported into that incredibly realistic landscape, complete with a huge, moveable and resizeable 4K Mac display has helped me focus entirely on the words. It’s the best distraction-free writing experience I have ever encountered.
The second is for video editing when I’m not in the studio. With ‘only’ the 14-inch MacBook Pro’s display to hand, the ability to turn it into the aforementioned detachable 4K display is genuinely game-changing.
So, why do I say Vision Pro is “possibly” being shoe-horned into these routines? It’s simple: I was getting on just fine before. Sure, there were lots more distractions in the kitchen while undertaking my writing before Vision Pro arrived, and that 14-inch MacBook Pro Display did feel a bit cramped, but neither of those things held me back. I must, therefore, deduce that I’m using Vision Pro for these tasks simply because I feel like it needs to be used and explored.
There’s a constant reminder of Vision Pro’s need to justify its existence: the weight and discomfort. Vision Pro doesn’t get lighter or more comfortable the longer you own it – at least in my experience. It remains a significant undertaking, physically, and I’ve normally had enough after an hour of use.
This is why I’m not surprised that some people are questioning its future.
Why do people think Apple will cancel Vision Pro?
I completely understand why so many people are either poking fun at Vision Pro or suggesting that it is a desperate attempt by Apple to move beyond its reliance on the iPhone and deliver another breakthrough product.
It looks silly when you’re wearing it, and the silliness is taken to a whole other level when EyeSight kicks in and the minion version of your eyes appears for the person who has just walked into your field of view (that is, providing they can actually see those silly eyes, given how dreadful the front display on Vision Pro is).
It is biblically expensive, too. If you’re stupid enough to import Vision Pro into a country like the UK (as I did) you’ll have the option of either paying the mortgage and feeding the family for a month or committing to your new toy.
Vision Pro is, as noted earlier, an uncomfortable thing to wear. The weight is a problem in and of itself, but the real issue is the heft it places on your nose and cheeks. To make matters worse, visionOS seems intent on making itself even more uncomfortable with continual prompts to move the headset further down your face (in my experience, that would mean literally cutting off your nose to make way for the headset).
It’s also made by Apple, and for every person who loves Tim Cook’s company, there’s one who despises it. Trust me – I’ve seen everything in the comments sections of my videos, and there’s nothing quite like the ferocity with which an Anti-Apple Person will inform you of their distaste for that brand and every ’sheeplez’ who follows it.
On the face of it, Vision Pro deserves to be mocked, forgotten about and cancelled.
However, nothing could be further from the truth, I’m afraid.
Why Apple won’t cancel it
I’d argue that Apple has continued to deliver breakthrough products since the iPhone’s launch in 2007. In that time, we’ve had the iPad, the Apple Watch, and, more recently, Apple silicon – not to mention a raft of services that have had significant impacts on the health and entertainment industries.
That still isn’t enough for some people and, most importantly, shareholders. The tech press always has Apple in its sights, too. It’s why they need to do something really big, and it’s clear that Vision Pro and spatial computing in general is Tim Cook’s attempt at The Next Big Thing.
Once again – and I’m afraid I can’t ignore it – I need to be all patronising and explain that you need to experience Vision Pro before calling it a failure.
They’re onto something here. The ability to immerse yourself in a digital environment while still having access to the outside world is the future. I’m convinced that my son (who is currently nearing his second birthday) won’t have a smartphone when he reaches adulthood. He’ll be wearing a pair of glasses that look like a pair of glasses but which feature revision <insert large number here> of visionOS. Or a competing product, obviously.
Why would Apple give up on this if they’re so sure it’s the future of computing? Equally, when you get Vision Pro in your hands, you realise how much work has gone into it. There have, clearly, been years and, I’d guess, billions of dollars’ worth of investment piled into this thing.
Then you strap it to your face and marvel as your eyes are immediately tracked and the imaginary volumetric world reacts instinctively to your every movement. That’s when you double your original estimation of how long it took Apple to get here.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Steve Jobs is behind a lot of what we’re seeing with Vision Pro and visionOS.
They’re not going to cancel Vision Pro because of some bad press, The Anti-Apple Collective, and a high order return rate for the first iteration. That would be monumentally stupid.
Wrapping up: my next test for Vision Pro
I’ve only published two videos about Vision Pro thus far and have decided to step back while the level of interest does the same. When Apple’s headset launches in the UK and the rest of the world, I anticipate that the interest will return (to a degree), and that means I need to have a video ready and waiting.
A fortuitous meeting with a business local to me has unsuspectedly provided a brilliant idea for that video. It involves a firm that works exclusively in the VR space and a member of its team who needs convincing that Vision Pro is worth investing time in.
That sounds like a reaction video waiting to happen, doesn’t it?
Stay tuned.
