Apple Vision Pro durability test reveals easily scratchable plastic at the front of this $3,500 headset

The first professional style durability test of Apples Vision Pro Mixed Reality headset - drop tests and teardowns already happened on the first weekend after release - started with quite the surprise. Contrary to all previous indications from testers and Apple itself, the front of this $3,500 Spatial Computing Headset is not made of glass but plastic instead. The fact that the curved front already scratches at Mohs level 2 instead of level 6 is a clear indication that the laminated glass, as it is referred to on Apple's product page, has the plastic layer on the outside instead of the inside.

From the durability tester's point of view this does not make much sense except to increase drop resistance. In fact, the aforementioned drop tests did show that a lot of effort is required to break the so called glass. The big disadvantage of using plastic instead of glass on the outside is of course that the exposed front scratches much more quickly and easily. Any contact with keys, coins or other metal objects is therefore likely to leave permanent scratches, probably ruining the expensive passthrough experience long-term. Apple charges $799 to replace that front layer, as Zack Nelson points out in his durability test video you can watch in full below.

From Apple's point of view it makes perfect sense to offer a particularly fluffy travel case for the Vision Pro for a measly $200 extra, you really don't want to just throw this easily scratchable piece of high tech into a backpack. Incidentally, this also applies to the lenses on the inside. Zack Nelson does not recommend using paper tissues for cleaning, as the risk of scratches are very high there as well. A short bend test demonstrates that the curved aluminum and plastic housing is quite robust overall, any attempts to get inside without damaging it do suggest however that repairability was not a high priority for Apple.