One Year with Apple Vision Pro

Exactly one year ago I met my UPS guy at a shady gas station to receive my Apple Vision Pro just a hair early. I hoped to make some compelling videos for YouTube and be one of the first to publish.

First impressions would be common, and early reviewers had already published their videos. I tried to be different and play to my audience with a video about Shortcuts on Apple Vision Pro. The video bombed and I quickly tried to think what I should create next.

In those early days, it was unclear how impacting Apple Vision Pro would be on my daily workflow and entertainment habits. Apple’s immersive content was, and still is, the best experience you can have using the device. Unfortunately, over the past year only a few, albeit compelling additions to that library have been released. My favorites are still the adventure series Highline and showing friends the Super Bowl recap video.

I would almost say that’s the best part of owning Apple Vision Pro, seeing the reaction from friends and family watching an immersive video for the first time. I made a whole video on that too. But after a full year of trying to find where it fits, how do I actually use Apple Vision Pro?

When it comes to my daily workflow, it just doesn’t fit. Whether I’m editing videos in Final Cut or just doing admin tasks, I vastly prefer working on my Studio Display. I feel much faster, and I don’t have to wear something heavy on my face to do it.

visionOS 2.2 recently launched and with it the ability to share your Mac display in higher resolution, and in Wide and Ultrawide formats. That’s pretty cool, and there have been a few moments when I was editing videos in the car at my kids’ dance rehearsals when Apple Vision Pro came in handy.

Editing on my 14-inch MacBook Pro can feel constrained, but Apple Vision Pro's infinite canvas takes away any screen size limitations. Sometimes, I will bring the headset with the intention to use it, but being on a time crunch I’ll just edit straight off the laptop. The time investment to start up Apple Vision Pro, wait for it to be ready, mirror my Mac display, rearrange windows, and then get to work feels like too much wasted time.

I’ve also brought it on several trips, and that’s likely the second-best use case. Working in a hotel room mirroring my MacBook Pro into Apple Vision Pro, or watching movies and TV shows on some form of transportation is pretty nice. WaterField’s case is still the best for keeping Apple Vision Pro compact.

Apple Vision Pro case on left, WaterField on right

An iPad does well in the latter situation too, but if you’ve ever watched an entire season of Ted Lasso on an international flight looking down towards the tray table (which I have), it’s not ideal. Just gaining the ability to keep your head up while watching content in Apple Vision Pro is enough to warrant the effort.

Over the past year, I’ve used it in the car for editing videos maybe twice, and taken it on three trips with multiple days of use. Otherwise, Apple Vision Pro sits idly most of the time.

I have a wife and three kids, so to use it outside of work hours would mean isolating myself from them. If any movie or show is to be watched, it’s happening on TV. And since it’s not part of my working routine, it’s rarely turned on.

Occasionally there may be an evening when I’m alone, my wife at an orchestra rehearsal, and that’s when I’ll charge it up and try some content in 3D. Whenever a new immersive video from Apple is released, that’s my first choice. But those are few and far between, and usually only about ten minutes long.

So given the chance, I’ll peruse movies on Disney+ that may be in 3D, look through my purchased movies (Wicked in 3D was worth it), or most recently, watch Severance. I can watch for 2-3 hours in relative comfort. The new Belkin head strap that works with the Solo Knit band does help relieve some pressure on the face, but after a couple hours, it gets a bit uncomfortable. Eye strain happens after that amount of time as well.

There are some unique experiences too, such as Marvel’s What If…? app. I got early access to try it and made a video, which was fun. But once you complete it (which takes 1-2 hours), that’s kind of it. I haven’t gone back to replay it and they don’t seem to be adding more content to the game.

If I were to average out all the times I put it on, it’s likely 2-3 times per month. Let’s be generous and say I’ve used it 50 times in the past year. Doing the math, given the storage and inserts I purchased, that’s about $87 every time I put it on.

Obviously, I’ll keep using it so that number will go down, but it’s an interesting way to look at the question, “Is Apple Vision Pro worth it?” Would I pay $87 to use it for a couple hours whenever I want? No, I wouldn’t.

For the vast majority of people, the current Apple Vision Pro is not worth it. Maybe if you find it comfortable for 6+ hours of wear and you travel so frequently that you would use it multiple times a week, maybe. But I really can’t imagine another scenario where I would advise someone to get an Apple Vision Pro today.

Now, if and when a cheaper version comes out, without the exterior screen (which is horrifying anyway), made of lighter materials, and hopefully much more immersive content to watch, that may be worth considering. 

I would suggest everyone go for a live demo of Apple Vision Pro at an Apple Store. Some of the immersive experiences are very compelling. The recent bull-rider episode has a moment when the bull walks right up to the camera. Wearing Apple Vision Pro, there is a visceral reaction where you physically lean backward almost expecting the bull to touch you. It’s pretty wild. I experienced that during the Rhino episode as well. 

I can also see a future where people who are unable to travel or see exotic places experience them almost as if they were real using Apple Vision Pro. That would certainly be worthwhile. Or one day having a FaceTime Persona call where it feels like you’re in the room with another person (I used Digital Persona twice in the first month and never again).

If and when live sports can be experienced as immersive content, that will be huge. My father-in-law is a super fan of all sports, and seeing the NBA immersive video was very compelling. He immediately asked, “Can I watch live games like this?” One day, when he can “sit courtside” from the comfort of home for every game, he may just get an Apple Vision Pro.

For me, getting Apple Vision Pro on launch day was exciting for two reasons. I missed the original iPhone and iPad launches, just not in a place financially to get one. Apple Watch was my first “launch-day, new product category” device and I had the honor of doing the full review for AppleInsider back in 2015.

Apple Vision Pro was the first Apple device I got on launch day (from a shady gas station), and reviewed it for my personal YouTube channel. It holds a special place for that reason alone. And I’ll keep putting it on for new immersive content and truly unique experiences, albeit once or twice a week.