Apple’s Vision Pro live launch has revealed a number of hitherto unknown details about the device. One of these is its actual weight, which has been an area of keen interest since its initial unveiling last year and again as production-ready units have been tested by selected media outlets. As we recently reported, both testers from The Verge and Engadget (among others) have complained about neck pain and shared concerns about its weight after only half an hour spent using the Vision Pro.
Those concerns appear to be well-founded with Apple now revealing that the Vision Pro officially weighs in at between 1.325 pounds (601 grams) and 1.43 pounds (648.6 grams), depending on configuration. The latter figure approaches the weight of a 12.9-inch Apple iPad Pro, which tips the scales at 1.51 pounds (684 grams). As you might imagine, strapping something that weighs on par with a 12.9-inch iPad Pro will inevitably take a toll.
Apple had originally been planning on integrating the battery into the Vision Pro as well, but was forced to excise it from the headset and attach via a dongle. It has now also been revealed that the battery pack weighs in at .77 pounds (353 grams), which explains why the company was forced to make such an un-Apple-like design compromise. Apple has included an optional double loop band in the box with the Vision Pro, which is reported to help alleviate at least some of the potential discomfort users have reported.
This won’t, however, alleviate pain users may feel in response to the limited number of spatially optimized apps for the device at launch, particularly from Apple itself. This was another of the less than pleasant surprises revealed with the official publication of all the details and specs that went live on Apple’s website. While Apple ships around 40 built-in optimized tablet apps on its iPads, the Vision Pro will ship with just 15 spatially optimized apps when it starts reaching customers from February 2.
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