As I mentioned before forking out big bucks for an Apple Vision Pro, I probably won’t have spent that much money except for the fact that I needed one for coverage at Apple World Today.
Now that I have it, I certainly won’t be trading it back in. Some pundits — such as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman — thinks that a lot of purchased Apple Vision Pro units are being returned. However, a study by AppleInsider has found that the early return rate for the spatial computer seems pretty low.
“With the help of sources inside Apple’s retail chain at 24 mostly US east coast stores, I’ve been keeping an eye on return volumes as best as I can for the last week. So far, there doesn’t appear to be that much in the way of returns, and certainly not a cataclysmic flood,” AppleInsider’s Mike Wuerthele writes. “As of publication, at about 1PM Eastern Time on February 16, the rate that Apple Vision Pro is being returned doesn’t seem to be any higher than other Apple products.”
Are there issues with the Vision Pro? Certainly. In a Sunday “Power On” newsletter, Gurman said these are some of the reasons folks are returning the Vision Pro:
- The device is simply too heavy, too cumbersome to manage, headache-inducing and uncomfortable.
- The current lack of applications and video content doesn’t justify the price.
- The work features don’t make people more productive than just using an normal external monitor with a Mac — and they’re difficult to use for long periods.
- The displays have too much glare, the field of view is too narrow, and the device causes eyestrain and vision problems.
- The product can make users feel isolated from family and friends. Meaningful shared experiences don’t yet exist, and the Vision Pro can’t easily be passed around to others because of the need for a precise fit.
All these complaints are fair enough. However, as mentioned, I definitely find Apple’s latest device a keeper.
There are several reasons why. It’s fun to play around with. The hardware could use improvements (and will in future iterations of the spatial computer), but the software is incredible. It’s a great “movie theater” when I’m watching films all by my lonesome (and 3D movies on it are incredible). And it offers a glimpse of the future of computing.
I don’t agree with everything he says, but in a Cult of Mac article, Ed Hardy offers the primary reason why the Vision Pro is so vital: Vision Pro shows us that the computers we have now have progressed about as far as they can. What we currently use are highly improved versions of devices from the 1990s, but there isn’t much room for further enhancement. That’s why we find new MacBook and iPhone versions kind of boring. And why the Mac mini hasn’t been redesigned in many years.
It’s time to replace them with a whole new type of computer. A much better option. Vision Pro is the first of these. It’s crude and limited compared to what’s coming, but future versions will change the world.
People keep asking Apple for innovation. Here it is.
Unless you have $3,500 or more money to burn, I can’t honestly recommend you run out and buy a Vision Pro. But if not now, next year, two years, three years from now, you’re definitely going to want one.
