Initial reviews of the Apple Vision Pro are out, and while everyone agrees it's the future of Apple, it's not the most comfortable. People have basically the same view on Apple Vision Pro, and they are all interested in the prospects of spatial computing, but they are unable to determine what its killer application is. It was considered an interesting product, but one that was only suitable for developers or wealthy consumers and didn't have broad appeal.

Since Apple’s Vision Pro hardware was released in June 2023, few people have been able to use it. Questions were quickly raised about the product's practicality, battery life and ability to be used during long shifts.

VisionPro goes on pre-order on January 19th, with shipments and in-store sales starting on February 2nd. A few lucky people have already tried out the headset ahead of its release, and we've collected initial impressions or full reviews from various popular publications and YouTube personalities.

TheVerge

Nilay Patel of The Verge said, "Apple Vision Pro has the potential to be amazing, and sometimes it is, but Vision Pro also represents a set of really significant trade-offs that cannot be ignored."

These issues include both weight and the use of an external battery pack, as well as philosophical questions such as whether it's good enough to beat ordinary computing. "There's still a long way to go to beat 'Here'.

Compared to other VR headsets, the Sololoop is an "amazing" headset that's more comfortable, "definitely cooler" and doesn't mess with the user's hair, but Patel also wanted the mounting points to be on the outside so they could be pulled over the head and clamped rather than tugging at the hair.

The displays look "generally incredible -- sharp enough to read text without noticing and bright enough to feel satisfied while watching movies." Meanwhile, Apple's Transparent View "is an amazing feat of engineering that can be displayed in real-time at high resolution on a computer that covers your eyes." "

However, in his opinion, "This is the best look anyone has done there, but it's still not as good as what's done here." When using it, "the first few times I used hand-eye tracking on Vision Pro, it was awe-inspiring—it felt like a superpower," but as the awe wore off, it "made using VisionPro more difficult."

All in all, the Vision Pro is "an astounding product. It's a first-generation device that only Apple could really make." Ultimately, though, he felt he wanted to "get work done" in VisionPro, and its "isolated" experience didn't help matters.

MKBHD

CNET

"Living in Vision Pro this past week has been one of the most complex experiences," Scott Stein wrote for CNET. "This is one of the hardest products I've ever reviewed. Parts of it are amazing. Other parts feel incomplete." "

Called "the best wearable display I've ever worn," Stein said, "Some parts of the Vision Pro feel like any other Apple device, and some parts feel completely different. This mostly stems from the connection hardware, including the strap, and the 'weird' battery condition."

"Apple's pass-through camera is the best I've ever seen, with virtually no distortion. There's some blur and lag when I turn left and right quickly, and the quality drops in low light, but it's enough for me to see details in the room through the camera. Even though the Vision Pro doesn't have any room settings to map your room like other headsets I've used, it still has room awareness. That blew me away. It scans and uses the depth map invisibly."

"I've been trying to use the VisionPro as my own computer, and it feels like I'm surrounded by monitors. On the left is a 3D golf game. On the right is a set of floating photos. I paired it with a Magic Keyboard and a Magic Trackpad. I can make the TV float in the air. I can ask Siri to start playing music. It's great, except that I find that sometimes the virtual display won't connect, or my display will have connection issues and freeze."

Summarizing his thoughts, he asked: "Will Vision Pro be the first step in modern spatial computing in mixed reality? Maybe. The eye and hand tracking make it look futuristic, but it's still not final."

While everything Stein is doing on a computer isn't yet possible on a headset, "I think future versions of VisionPro will one day eat them all up. Not yet."