Apple Vision Pro launch pre-view testers complain about weight, comfort, even headaches

Engadget and The Verge have both gone hands-on again with the Apple Vision Pro, but this time with the production ready units set to ship to early adopters next month. The response from both sites was mixed. Engadget's Cherlynn Low complained that within 15 minutes she “started to feel weighed down by the device,” and just five minutes later she was “in pain.” The Verge’s Victoria Song also said that by the end of the 30-minute demo, she “started to feel the weight of the headset…and the beginnings of a mild headache.”

Needless to say, these are not the sorts of experiences that Apple would have been hoping to hear before it becomes available to the wider public on February 2. The Vision Pro is considered by many pundits to be one of the most important products released under the tenure of Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is pitching the product as auguring the “era of spatial computing.” Although VR and AR headsets to date are all forms of spatial computing, Apple has made a concerted attempt to appropriate the term as meaning something different or broader than previous AR/VR experiences.

While the testers noted issues with comfort of the headset, they did also acknowledge the Vision Pro does offer quite immersive experiences. The meditation experience was noted as being particularly enjoyable, for example. Hand-tracking and the use of gestures to control the interface worked well. However, when it comes to doing more work oriented tasks, Engadget’s Dana Wollman commented that the virtual keyboard experience was poor and it “took several tries to even spell Engadget correctly in the Safari demo.” 

Despite having potential, headsets to date haven't been very successful commercially, and as we wrote in a recent opinion column, there is no guarantee that even with an Apple logo on it, the Vision Pro will have anymore success than other AR/VR headsets before it. The Apple Vision Pro will retail from $3,500 with pre-orders commencing this Friday, 19 January at 5.00am PT. Purchasers will be asked to scan their face ahead of an in-store fitting and demo experience that will last at least 40 minutes, before they will be able to take their Vision Pro home. Supplies at launch are expected to be very limited and only available in the US throughout 2024 before a wider global launch in 2025.

Purchase the Meta Quest 3 bundled with Asgard's Wrath through Amazon from $499.