Apple Vision Pro: 5 Hands-On Takes

As you probably know, the AR industry experienced a much-anticipated milestone this week with Apple’s Vision Pro unveiling. Without having used the device ourselves (more on that in a bit), we’ll keep our reactions at a high level, including commentary and market sizing to come.

Until then, there’s no shortage of punditry, most of it slamming Vision Pro’s price tag. Though that’s not entirely wrong, it misses the point. V1 isn’t meant for most people, but rather early adopters and developers. Apple is hoping the latter does its thing and jumpstarts an ecosystem.

Or as Road to VR’s Ben Lang puts it:

“With this first-gen headset, Apple has planted a flag in the ground with Vision Pro, saying, ‘we want the MR experience to be at least this good, regardless of what it costs’. From here the goal is clear: make it smaller, better, and cheaper. And if they keep doing that, future iterations of AVP will become increasingly valuable and increasingly accessible to more and more people. If this is the bar they’re setting for themselves (and by extension, the rest of the XR industry), then the future is looking very bright… even if it’s not quite here yet.”

Review Roundup

Speaking of Lang, he’s among a small batch of tech writers and market watchers who got to try the device at WWDC on Monday. And it shows in his insights (Pro Tip: be wary of non-XR pundits who haven’t touched the device… or anyone using the m-word to describe it).

So to save you some time and point you to the most credible commentary, we’ve rounded up our favorite hands-on reviews. These are from a mix of XR experts, and tech generalists that have some experience and perspective with AR and VR hardware. Here are our favorites.