I’m an Apple Early Adopter, and the Vision Pro Isn’t Right for Me—Yet

It’s a little embarrassing to admit how many times I’ve said “I’ll wait for the next version” of a hot, newly launched Apple product, only to end up with a signature white bag in my hand soon after. It happened with the iPhone 3G, the first iPad, the Apple Watch…and now it’s happened with the Apple Vision Pro. But this time, I really am waiting for a future iteration.

As I pack it up to send back, I’m saying goodbye to a marvel of technology searching for a reason to exist. And until it becomes clear what that is for the Vision Pro, I just can’t justify the $3,500 (starting) price tag.

Everything you need to know about the Apple Vision Pro

The Vision Pro is Apple’s first wearable headset. While the company doesn’t use the terms virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) to describe the device, that’s what it’s for. A pair of extremely high-resolution displays—one for each eye—working with an array of cameras and sensors allow you to overlay virtual content onto the real world, seeing what’s going on around you in an impressive, although not totally perfect, fidelity. (If you wear glasses, you’ll need to pay extra for prescription inserts.)

You navigate through the environment using your eyes as a cursor and your thumb and forefinger as the selection tool rather than a mouse or trackpad (although a Bluetooth keyboard is necessary for any sort of long-form text input). Just look at what you want to manipulate, tap those two fingers together and, in that old Apple adage, it just works—mostly. When it does, it feels like magic.

Previous mainstream VR headsets have been mainly positioned as gaming devices, with immersive experiences that remove you from the real world. Apple doesn’t have that same focus. Instead, it’s calling the Vision Pro a “spatial computing” device. The iPhone put tasks that had mostly been relegated to a computer in your hand; the Vision Pro places them in floating windows set against whatever is actually in front of you. So while you can run a selection of games on it, you can also do general computer things: look at your photos, send iMessages, make FaceTime calls, browse Safari and more.

The Vision Pro launched with about 600 apps designed specifically for it, in addition to the more than a million iPhone and iPad apps that can run on it. At this early point, very few of those experiences are inherently better than their counterparts on an existing device.

That level of openness is simultaneously exciting and disappointing. It’s simply not clear what this device is made for, why it needs to exist. Sure, you can watch movies in a giant floating window while your background is set to look like you’re on the moon or in your own personal movie theater, and it’s darn cool. Video and photos, especially those shot in the spatial format that turns them into immersive, 3-D ethereal memories—there’s even a flashback-esque haze around them—are my favorite feature so far. I can absolutely see a future in which apps take advantage of the new interface for experiences that make the price worth it, but it’s not certain enough to bank on it.

There are physical limitations that make this first attempt at a head-mounted wearable imperfect. The headset itself weighs 1.4 pounds, which might not sound like a lot, but ended up becoming uncomfortable after about half an hour or so in my testing. Using the Vision Pro gave me a low-grade headache and a little bit of nausea. Plus, vainly, it messed up my hair. It’s not something I’d want to wear all day. When I brought it to work to mirror my Mac’s screen into the virtual space, I found myself wanting to take it off after a bit, and not itching to put it back on.

Then there’s the battery pack that has to be attached for the Vision Pro to run. It weighs more than three-quarters of a pound itself and runs for about two to three hours. You have to have pockets (or a third-party holster) if you plan on being mobile while wearing the headset. And if you want to travel with it, a case is all but necessary. Apple’s case costs $200 and is the size of a small watermelon.

Who is the Apple Vision Pro right for today?

The big question is who, aside from serious Apple enthusiasts who purchase every new product from the brand, is the customer for this product?

The feature that works the best, and makes the headset the most worth its price, is (solo) video viewing. Whether you’re a long-haul airline traveler who wants to see movies projected much larger than on a seat back or laptop screen, someone who just wants to watch movies on the equivalent of a 100-foot wide screen from the comfort of your couch or a 3-D movie enthusiast, the Apple Vision Pro delivers a fantastic experience.

It’s also a great choice as a milestone gift for someone who already has everything.

After using the Apple Vision Pro for more than a week, I’m both excited and left wanting. I’ve never used such an advanced device, and it really feels like something out of the future. It just doesn’t do enough, or do enough better, than the Apple gear I already have though. In time that could very well change and I’m hoping it does. But buying an Apple Vision Pro now is a speculative investment that I’m just not ready to make.