Vision Pro Faigue: My Journey from Wow to Nah

Not going to lie, having the opportunity to get up close and personal with 3500 dollars The Apple Vision Pro makes me feel all kinds of blessed. Well, it’s the ultimate mixed reality (oh sorry, SPACE headphones) there now. And, as of May 4th, I’ve officially completed a month with him.

From goosebumps to tears, Vision Pro’s stellar eye and hand tracking experience made the enthusiast in me feel the spectacular. Alas, this initial fun quickly turned into oh-what-else-can-I-do-for-fun, and that’s what I’m here to talk about.

The first thing I noticed was the poor looking App Store in Vision Pro. While it’s over 1000 applications compatible with Vision Pro, there are only about 500-600 apps tailored specifically for Vision Pro, the rest are iPad compatible apps ported to Vision Pro.

Of those, do some filtering and you’ll be left with only a handful of really good apps. If you take a look at this report, you’ll see how the addition of new apps dropped to just 1 in the last week of March after the headset started shipping. Why, Apple?

When I first set up the Apple Vision Pro, I didn’t care about the limited app selection, how heavy it was, or even the hanging annoyance of an external battery pack. I just didn’t want to remove it, because it is facilities it had me in a trance. You lose all sense of reality and everything around you. Watching sci-fi movies on moon, meditating on Mount Hoodor just staring at Haleakalā the eerie night sky kept me engaged, for a long time, initially.

The embarrassment is extremely real

Watching videos, YouTube movies, and everything in Vision Pro that I usually do on my phone or laptop feels like this whole new experience. I was a kid again getting my first smartphone. This feeling is irreplaceable, right? However, once you hit the one hour mark of wearing the headphones, get started feeling the weight of the world on your forehead.

As soon as I took it off, I realized what a terrible headache I had created. I couldn’t even finish the movie I started watching on it. This is a major problem with the Vision Pro and has caused many users to return the device as well.

Once you’ve reached the 1-hour mark of using the headphones, get started feeling the weight of the world on your forehead.

Since I didn’t have to worry about returning the headphones, I wanted to squeeze the device out of it. This search led me to try games like Puzzling Places and I was blown away. The level of detail and the integration with the hand/eye gestures made those three the best puzzles I’ve solved in my life to date. But, there are only so many reps you can do.

I tried to make the most of it but…

Sadly, being in India and behind Apple Arcade’s geo-blocking, I couldn’t see the true gaming potential of the Vision Pro. I couldn’t even try out some of the cool paid apps that The App Store wouldn’t let me pay to the Indian currency, which is sad. of geographical disadvantage it’s unwarranted, in all honesty. This is something that Akshay (our content strategist), had a problem with and spoke about in his AVP feature as well.

So understandably, my anxiety was getting worse at this point and I needed to find things to do. While I used my Vision Pro Persona to Facetime some of my friends and freak them out, it wasn’t enough.

It was then that I came across Dating Dinosaurs interactive application experience within the Apple TV app. I think the dino-nerd in me cried a little. I ended up bragging to my friends and that annoying kid on the block about how I managed to pet a Carnotaurus.

After who knows how many sessions of this, I began to explore Apple TV further, and then, The immersive videos hit me like “waah!” SOMETHING. From holding my breath with Faith Dickey as she skydives 3,000 feet above Norway, jamming with Alicia Keys in a studio, petting a rhinoceros, and even watching some raptors try to catch a Nasutoceratops, it only took me two hours of cool. Using Vision Pro.

Apple TV’s limited free immersive videos weren’t enough though (obviously) and left me wanting more. That desire led me straight to the official GUCCI app, which got me excited about someone I didn’t even know before (you’re incredible, Sabato). But after a review, I’m done with it.

From holding your breath with Faith Dickey as she skydives 3,000 meters above Norway, jamming with Alicia Keys in a studio, petting a rhinoceros and even watching some raptors try to catch a Nasutoceratops. two hours coolness in my use of Vision Pro.

My next stop was the AmazeVR app, which lets you watch immersive VR concerts by artists like Zara Larsson, Meghan Thee Stallion and Avenged Sevenfold, and I think I had a VR gas on that one. But after finishing the free stuff, I found myself getting bored again. To improve my mood, I got on the TRIPP to do a guided meditation, which was fun for about 30 minutes, after which, I was back at the start.

Explore POV was another app I tried and the amazing immersive videos of New Zealand gave me the courage to look for travel packages. To get over my broken bank account, I also did some Tai Chi with Po from Kung Fu Panda to feel better.

It doesn’t end there. Even your son Lend stole the MacBook Air M3 that Akshay was using and turned it into a monitor for a good few hours. But like I said before, it’s exhausting to hold it for a long period of time. In other words, I covered as many bases as I could.

After doing all of this and more for what turned out to be a month now, I don’t know where to go from here. I am worried and upset and have even stopped visiting the app store again to look for new apps added as it doesn’t happen often.

Vision Pro won but at what cost?

There’s no doubt that the pass-through technology and screen quality of the Vision Pro are second to none. When I put on the Meta Quest 2 we had in the office after using the Vision Pro, it felt like I was switching from a flagship to a budget phone.

However, Quest 2 made me realize how endless the possibilities are with a VR system, let alone one that is mixed reality in nature. For example, in Quest 2, theater mode isn’t limited to specific apps like it is in Vision Pro.

I could also do this with YouTube videos, which is very interesting. Additionally, Quest’s app store is simply amazing, keeping nothing unduly restricted from me. I had access to anything and everything I wanted to do.

Quest 2 made me realize how endless the possibilities are with a VR system, let alone one that is mixed reality in nature.

There was also a good selection of free games to make the hours seem like minutes. The app library is pretty impressive, to say the least. Most importantly, it is much easier to operate. Want a friend or family member to try something on? Just take it off and have them wear it.

Meanwhile, in Vision Pro, you’ll need to enable Guest Mode to get them to set up eye and hand tracking for them again. I tried to explain the setup process to my dad and I could hear him heaving deep sighs the whole time.

Yes, Meta has been building Quest for years and is now a master at the art. Apple is new to it and understandably it will take some time to get there. But given recent reports of headphone sales taking a hit, things aren’t looking good for Apple.

Not to mention that even Apple doesn’t seem that interested in doing anything about it. Right now, only the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max come with Spatial Video and Photo support for Vision Pro. The latest M4 iPads don’t come with dual camera setups to allow spatial recording in the first place.

While I don’t want it to be a major technological failure, there is a chance it could happen. It’s revolutionary, no doubt, and me can sometimes I wear it to disconnect from reality. But that’s it.

However, this is not just the case with Vision Pro. I believe this is a very niche market and for most people VR, AR and Mixed Reality headsets are a done deal. While it’s exciting at first, it all wears off pretty quickly and you’ll soon find yourself taking it out just to charge it and then putting it back in again.

For $3,500, you can build a custom gaming rig, take a week-long trip to Paris, enjoy 30 skydiving sessions together, get four MacBook Air M3s, three of the latest iPad Pro M4s, or even five Meta Quest 3.

This is probably why the Vision Pro too The incredible screen and processing power don’t make it a good standalone device to use every day. Additionally, there is the exorbitant price tag of $3,500. For that much, you can build a custom gaming rig, take a two-week trip to Paris, enjoy 30 skydiving sessions together, get four MacBook Air M3s, three of the latest iPad Pro M4s, or even five Meta Quest 3.

People are well aware of this, and Vision Pro has become high-level internet meme material. While I love the headset for what it is, I can’t disagree with all the knocks it’s taken.