Over 200000 units were sold in 10 days of pre-sale, but it wasn't until last night that the review of Apple Vision Pro was officially lifted.
Apple claims that the Vision Pro, which starts at $3499, is the beginning of "spatial computing" with great ambition: to integrate the real world with the virtual world and achieve augmented reality (AR).
Can Vision Pro really live up to expectations? The mainstream technology media in the United States, represented by The Verge, seem to disagree.
The Verge offers a lengthy review of tens of thousands of words - good news: it's the best; Bad news: It's the best VR headset; Conclusion: Vision Pro is a VR headset under the banner of AR, and although Apple does not want anyone to view Vision Pro as a VR headset, it is indeed a similar product to MetaQuest.
The best VR equipment
The Verge claims that in the field of VR headsets, Apple's Vision Pro is the best, with the best perspective effects, more advanced hand eye tracking technology, seamless Apple ecosystem, and innovative interactive methods.
In terms of hardware, Vision Pro is equipped with an M2 processor, Apple's new R1 space coprocessor, and a pair of fans. The display screen is a major highlight and the main reason why Vision Pro is so expensive - Vision Pro uses a Micro OLED screen with a total of 23 million pixels and a size of only 7.5 microns, about the size of a red blood cell, which makes the displayed content clear and bright enough to restore reality as much as possible.
However, the display effect of Vision Pro on the external environment varies depending on the brightness of the light. In low light, there will be more noise, which is also a common problem among all VR glasses.
In addition, Vision Pro is made of magnesium and carbon fiber, with an aluminum shell making it more lightweight; A large number of cameras and sensors are hidden on the glass cover, including a pair of high-resolution front facing cameras for video transmission, cameras facing downwards and sideways for tracking hand movements, LiDAR scanners and original depth cameras for space tracking, as well as infrared floodlights. The above hardware allows the device to work in low light conditions; The speaker is installed on the side and performs well in rendering spatial audio, but there is also serious noise leakage. It is recommended to use it with Bluetooth headphones. If you use the latest AirPods Pro, you can obtain lower latency, lossless 48KHz audio, and Apple's adaptive audio system (which can automatically mix real-world sound as needed).
In terms of experience, Vision Pro uses the eyes as the mouse, voice, and hands as the keyboard, which means that you only need to look at the target you want to control, and then use corresponding gestures to perform any operation on the displayed interface.
Virtual displays and applications can be layered and presented in the real world, allowing users to freely arrange windows in space.
Vision Pro can also be linked with Mac and iPhone, and its linkage with iPhone is also known as the "best feature" of Vision Pro by The Verge: shooting spatial videos on the phone and watching them on Vision Pro. Currently, iPhone can capture corresponding videos at 1080p 30fps or full 4K resolution.
An unavoidable sense of loneliness
One of the main reasons why Apple is passionate about AR is that it wants to break free from the isolation and loneliness caused by the fully immersive effects of VR devices. Has Apple achieved this?
Vision Pro provides the best perspective function among consumer electronics devices to date, but it is still "not AR enough" because Vision Pro is not an OST (pure optical perspective) solution - the environment we see in Vision Pro is a regenerated image captured by the camera and then displayed by the optical machine, rather than the environment itself.
Vision Pro does not have a human like field of view, it is more like using binoculars to see the world, and the lens edges have colored edges, where the resolution is average, so the field of view is further compressed.
That is to say, the connection between Vision Pro and reality is not strong.
The EyeSight feature of the Vision Pro display screen illustrates this point, as it aims to display the wearer's eyes outward through a low resolution OLED display and a front double convex lens surface, avoiding complete isolation from others.
But after experiencing it, The Verge said that the display screen is very dim, and the glass cover has strong reflectivity, making it difficult for people to see the wearer's eyes clearly in normal lighting conditions, let alone eye contact.
Not yet competent as a "productivity tool"
Is Vision Pro a computer (productivity tool) or a VR headset (entertainment device)?
An obvious drawback limits its application as a productivity tool - heavy.
In the case of an external battery, Vision Pro is still heavier than Quest2 (503g) and Quest3 (515g). The Verge introduced that the Vision Pro weighs between 600 grams and 650 grams, which is heavier than the 11 inch iPad Pro (470 grams) and close to the 12.9 inch iPad Pro (682 grams). It is "an iPad suitable for wearing on the face.".
Other VR devices, such as the Quest Pro (722g), will use a headband to balance weight, but the Vision Pro's entire weight is completely forward facing. Replacing a single ring strap with a double ring strap can make the device more stable, but it does not truly reduce the weight of the Vision Pro. This burden becomes more noticeable after using it for a longer period of time.
The battery of Vision Pro is a 353-gram "silver brick" equipped with a USB-C port and an LED display light, which can provide power for more than two and a half hours. It is always connected to the device and cannot be disassembled. disconnecting the Vision Pro battery will completely cut off the power.
Even as a leisure and entertainment device, Vision Pro has great room for improvement. So far, only over 250 applications have been designed specifically for VisionOS, and Vision Pro does not support it as a true VR game or fitness application.
Summary
The Verge claims that Vision Pro is an amazing product, and only Apple can make this product.
Even if it is as strong as Apple, Vision Pro still has many creative ideas that cannot be realized, which may mean that based on the existing technological path, it is impossible to create a true MR device.
The seeds of dreams have been planted, and the significance of Vision Pro may lie in attracting more people to join the team of developing MR hardware, related software, and applications.
The current question is, is it a good time to buy Vision Pro now?
Undoubtedly, Vision Pro can mess up hair, make it inconvenient to wear makeup, have poor neutral performance in the dark room, and isolate itself from others
Is the above "sacrifice" worth it for consumers? Is the advantage of this device enough to make people overlook these negative experiences? Would you be more willing to use Vision Pro than a computer when it comes to surfing the internet?
The reporter from The Verge gave his answer politely: As a gaming console, Vision Pro is great, but it cannot replace computers, nor is it suitable as a productivity tool. "I don't want to work in the scenes created by Vision Pro, I need to collaborate with others and stay with them better."