The new Apple Vision Pro reviewed: Better, but the proposition remains the same

When I told my wife about… Update Vision Pro While I was putting it on, in the downstairs living room, she asked me what was different. I said it has a much faster processor and a new headband. I also mentioned that it still costs $3,500.

I noticed she was looking through me while we were talking, so I asked her if she was paying attention. “I’m just staring into your multi-colored eyes,” she said. I was hypnotized by my weird digital face on the front of the Vision Pro. I’ve had one of these headphones for about two years, and haven’t gotten used to it yet.

Apple has made technological strides in the hardware inside its “spatial computer,” a standalone hybrid virtual reality headset known as Vision Pro that has debuted Almost two years ago. But the company, despite its design prowess, has yet to make any headway in making it look less weird or less bulky.

if New iPad Pro It is Apple’s future computer today, and the Vision Pro is its future computer far in the future. The raw probability of M5 chip Mounting it on the headset’s array of cameras and HD displays is great. What’s on my face, coupled with the new support for PlayStation VR 2 Logitech’s wireless controllers and air pen can go some amazing places.

However, Apple has not reduced the price and app support is far behind what it should be. The new Vision Pro is no closer to being a PC for everyone than it was when it first launched in January 2024. Earlier this year I wrote that Apple needs to hurry With Vision Pro, but I’m still waiting.

Comfortable head strap, but still heavy

The included belt, called a dual belt, is an improvement. Instead of tying one ribbon around the back of the head, there is now a second ribbon over the top.

It’s a sleek design for the most part. The handle now pops out so I can adjust the back or top bar by turning the dial. Comfortable knit material. The weight is more balanced and I don’t feel like the headphone is falling on my cheek as much. I remember the weighted head strap I tried last year The Vision Pro device is made by ResMed, the manufacturer of the CPAP machine.

The Vision Pro is still heavy, in fact 5 ounces heavier than the original, thanks to the new strap’s woven counterweights at the back. The Vision Pro weighs 1.6 pounds without the battery pack, vs Meta Quest 3 1.1 pounds with battery on board.

Apple hasn’t taken any steps to reduce the feel of wearing the Vision Pro. Obviously the decision was made to favor performance this time over long-term comfort, but yes, it has an excellent strap now. Honestly, I’ve felt comfortable wearing it for long sessions before provided I had the proper head strap setting.

Performance improvements are subtle

Apple is promising 10% better pixel display, so text and visuals on the screen should look sharper. Motion blur has been reduced since the headset can now display at 120Hz most of the time as well. Just like Apple’s iPhone and iPad Pro, dynamic refresh rate shifts happen automatically.

I would say that the changes are not dramatic, and that most major parts of the experience remain unchanged. It still has a narrower field of view compared to other VR headsets, providing more insight into objects, and hand tracking and eye tracking are still the same – great, but not better.

Hand tracking in games seems to be a bit faster. Synth Riders, the vision closest to musical propriety, keeps the glowing balls attached to my hand more smoothly. Maybe it’s this refresh rate. Apps and games load faster, and the headset starts up much faster. It should be, since the M5 is several generations beyond the previous M2.

When it works, it’s amazing. But when it doesn’t…

I still find wearing the Vision Pro to be an incredibly wild and smooth experience when everything works. Right now, for example, I’m throwing my iPad Pro in front of me in the air, and I’m typing these words while watching Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 3D. I see my family moving around me. I forgot I was in headphones. It’s like a system of infinite screens and 3D audio, with the occasional layer of VR or mixed reality if you need it.

I watched the New York Jets take another loss over the weekend while writing this review inside headphones, testing apps, and even bringing up the screen from the new iPad Pro to write my review between devices.

When everything works, like connecting to my Mac to expand the screen and view everything else around me, it’s better than any other VR/AR headset. However, these parts are not advanced enough yet to justify hardware.

The Vision aspires to be invisible but I’m still wearing that bulky headset. There is still no way to write comfortably using hand tracing alone. You’ll have to use an attached keyboard to actually type, otherwise you’ll be hunting and tapping with two fingers on the floating keyboard.

And the headset still doesn’t work seamlessly with iPad, iPhone, or Apple Watch yet. It should be, because these things could be consoles or dashboards that Vision can work with.

I’ve also seen errors. Sometimes apps mysteriously quit, or the headset restarts. The Vision Pro interface, which relies on eye tracking to “identify” objects, is still not always accurate. I use prescription lens inserts but find it difficult to locate and click the small icons in apps or on Safari. I wish there was an easy cursor mode for accuracy, instead of just relying on my eyes. There’s one in the Accessibility settings, but it’s not a seamless part of the overall OS experience yet and it should be.

VisionOS 26 makes evolutionary strides

the The latest version of VisionOS Widgets can appear all over my room, stick to walls, and appear as windows. I see views of the journeys I’ve taken. I have labels for music playlists. I see the clock and weather near the couch.

My 3D scanned character avatar is still weird, but it’s gotten pretty good. No one has an avatar system like this yet, and when you get together with other people as their avatars in a space to chat, share 3D objects or a presentation, it feels like a strange telepresence.

However, Apple has offered so few concrete ways to use this collaboration in clear, new ways, and so few people have the Vision headphones that I rarely even try them out. Apple should allow iPhone or iPad to share AR experiences with the Vision Pro, but that hasn’t happened yet. Converting photos into spatial 3D using AI is also cool, but I wish videos could be converted automatically as well.

Vision Pro now supports PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers. When I tried to pair easily via Bluetooth, but in a game of ping pong the response was slower than in similar games on the Quest 3.

Missing Pieces: Applications

Despite working with PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers and Logitech’s wireless spatial pen for Vision, the Muse ($130), Apple hasn’t made enough progress to bring high-end gaming and creative applications to these inputs yet. Apple hasn’t developed any of its own apps either. Still no 3D Maps, no GarageBand or Logic, no VisionOS iMovie or Final Cut Pro, and no Apple-made art tools. The popular 3D app ZBrush is still not present in Vision either.

Apple still doesn’t have its own Vision 3D Pencil accessory, similar to the standard iPad Pencil. And there’s still no camera AI put into the Vision Pro, which means the M5 chip’s significant AI processing capabilities are largely untapped.

If Apple wants people to take this $3,500 spatial computer seriously, it needs to bring all of these things to the forefront now that the Vision Pro has an M5 chip. It’s too late.

The training wheels have to come off

I use the Vision Pro from time to time in my life: as a personal cinema, and to extend my screens when I’m working. But to do the work, I use it with my MacBook. It is an appendix in this regard. But with the M5 chip and its price, it should be a complete PC. It’s definitely a full PC as it runs a ton of apps in an iPadOS style and is immersive. But compared to iPad Prowhich finally feels like a complete experience, the Vision Pro — which costs much more — doesn’t.

The Vision Pro still feels like a first-generation product. Apple needs to figure out how to make future headphones lighter, like glasses. It needs to rely on processing and battery from connected Apple products like phones, Macs, and iPads. A headset should have all the tools anyone needs to create, share, and connect to any Apple device they want to use. Its unique application offerings must be better, and its inputs more flexible and flexible.

Nearly two years later, Apple’s Vision Pro is still the most advanced piece of mixed reality technology anyone has brought to market. But to what end, and what next? Maybe Apple is moving into smart glasses, or perhaps some eyeglass-like displays attached to the device. A smaller, less expensive headset that can fold away some of the Vision’s best features. The model is not settled here at all.

Meanwhile, this expensive and heavy speaker isn’t an upgrade anyone needs.