Apple Vision Pro: 5 Initial Thoughts from Trying the AR Headset

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I sampled the Vision Pro, Apple's first augmented reality headset, for 30 minutes. Here's what it's like to use.

The big news in the tech world right now, in case you've been living under a rock, is the Apple Vision Pro — Apple's new mixed-reality headset, which blends augmented and virtual reality into a single, sleek device. It was revealed on June 5 at Apple's WWDC conference in Cupertino — where, as it just so happens, I was lucky enough to try the Vision Pro for about 30 minutes.

During the brief demo, Apple walked me through the setup process and I got to experience a number of VR and AR experiences. I was able to take a FaceTime call, check out some immersive videos and photos, browse the web with multiple windows opened, watch a few 3D movie clips and more.

I didn't get to experience nearly everything that Apple showed the Vision Pro doing during the keynote — for example, I didn't get to use it with a Mac, or with other Bluetooth accessories— but it was enough of a taste to really get a sense of the flavor of the new device. And, to carry the metaphor a little farther ... it tastes great.

Here are some thoughts after my brief spin wearing the Apple Vision Pro.

The Vision Pro is unlike pretty much any other AR / VR headset, in that it doesn't require any extra hardware for you to control it. It's decked out with a multitude of cameras and sensors for eye-tracking and hand-tracking — and it works remarkably well.

To move your (mouse) pointer, you just look at the app or virtual button you want to press, and then tap your pointer finger and thumb together (either hand works); this acts as a click. To scroll, simply hold those same fingers together and pull up or down, left or right. It takes a bit of practice, but after a few minutes, it's pretty intuitive. Honestly, it's pretty incredible.

The other neat thing is, it doesn't really matter where your hands are placed. You can have them out in front of you or resting at your side, and the device will still detect your movements. The cameras in the Vision Pro can do a remarkably good job at picking up your clicks and scrolls without making you work that hard. It feels natural and relaxed.

The Virtual Pro is able to blend the real world and virtual reality in a way that feels both extraordinary and effortless. While wearing the headset and experiencing a virtual room, if somebody in the "real world" approached me or talked to me, the Vision Pro was smart enough to have them become visible in the virtual world. When looking at an immersive photo, I could see shadowy figures of the people walking me through the demo. And when I looked down, the Vision Pro was smart enough to show my actual hands and body while in the virtual world — it doesn't make you feel like a head floating in space. No other VR headset is able to do that.

In some experiences, you also can rotate the digital crown (located on the top of the headset) to let in more or less of the real world. In a way, this allows you to experience a virtual landscape without completely cutting you off from the physical world. It makes the headset feel less claustrophobic than a lot of other headsets.

The Vision Pro can take immersive 3D photos and 3D videos — it's basically Apple's first 360-degree camera. And these immersive photos and experiences are freaking trippy. Apple showed me a photo of a kid's birthday party that had incredible depth; the cake (and flaming candles) felt like they were right in front of me. There was a video of a bunch of guys around a campfire; I felt like I was there, in the conversation.

These 3D photos and 3D videos feel extremely personal. and I think people are going to love re-experiencing them in this way. The catch, however, is that they both require you to capture and experience them on a Vision Pro headset.

The Vision Pro has two buttons. There's a power button located above your left eye, and there's a digital crown — a rotating dial that looks and feels very similar to the digital crown that's on the Apple Watch Ultra and AirPods Max — located above your right eye. You'll use the digital crown a lot. It's the button you press every time you want the Vision Pro to re-center its screen(s) — something you do a lot with a VR or AR headset — and it's the dial you'll turn when you want to make the world you're seeing more or less virtual.

To get the Vision Pro up and running, you have to do a few things. You have to use your iPhone and Face ID to get your face fitted and scanned — if you have an iPhone with Face ID, you know what this process is like. Then you put on the headset, tighten side and headband straps so that they are snug, and the Vision Pro walks you through a few quick eye-tracking and hand-movement drills that take less than two minutes. All in all, the setup process is pretty much fast and painless.

One caveat here: if you normally wear eyeglasses, you'll need to get fitted for some special optical inserts made by Zeiss. These will need to be specially ordered and likely cost a bit extra, although Apple hasn't announced anything about how much extra these optical inserts will go for.

The price tag of the Vision Pro has been widely reported (and criticized) — it costs a cool $3,499 — but I can tell you that it certainly looks and feels like a premium headset. In fact, it's easily the best looking headset that I've gotten to try out. Its front display is a combination of glass and polished aluminum. The fabric headband has a convenient BOA-style dial for tightening that's similar to the lacing system on many popular shoes. And cord and battery pack (which is separate to not weigh down the headset, but seems a little awkward) didn't really get in the way or bother me.

That said, the Vision Pro definitely still feels like a headset. It requires the straps to be pretty tight so that your eyes are perfectly calibrated — otherwise the beautiful 4K image that the Vision Pro creates isn't going to appear as crisp and you're more likely to experience eye fatigue. So even though it's fairly comfortable and lightweight in terms of headsets, it's still nothing like wearing a pair of eyeglasses. And I have some questions about how long some people are going to want to wear this thing in one sitting.

The Apple Vision Pro starts at $3,499 and will be available early next year.