I got the new Apple Vision Pro to test if it might be an alternative for our developers as a next generation replacement for monitors. The concept is that you could potentially have a lot of windows open, they can be very large, and surround yourself potentially 360°. The short answer is I don’t think they are ready yet…
This is me on the left (Marlise says from the back I look even more bald), and this is what you see in the Vision Pro. I had up my Mac desktop primarily and a Message window on the right messaging with Marlise. The rest of the background is what I see in my kitchen.
Here are the Pros and Cool Things:
Cool things:
– Control things by looking at it and tapping your finger. For example there is a 6 digit signin security option. You look at the keypad numbers and tap your index finger and thumb. Amazing and it is quick.
– Expand and shink windows by looking at the bottom right corner and brining your finger and thumb together and just gesturing in and out to make it bigger or smaller.
– Close and move windows by looking at the bottom of a window and looking at the X (and tapping) or looking at a bar and moving. So I can start up an Apple Music window and move it way over to the right so it is kind of out of sight unless I turn my head and eyes in that direction.
– Multiple windows. Arrange them all around your field of vision or stack them and bring a back window to the front by looking at the edge.
– Display your Mac display and still use your trackpad and keyboard. This is kind of why I bought it to see if any developers might prefer this to having a monitor (or multiple monitors). While it is cool, I do not think it is ready for that use case yet. You can only have one display at a time, and while you can make that display HUGE and you can look around it, it feels like it is too close and you would have to have a bunch of windows on it. Plus it is too heavy to wear for any length of time.
– There is a keyboard that you can use in the VisionPro and it works kind of neat, but is a bit slow (or maybe it just takes more practice). You look at a letter on the virtual keyboard and you tap your finger and thumb. It has the suggested autocomplete words that appear like when typing a message on your phone to speed things up a bit.
– Background is like you are looking thru ski goggles, so you can see the room and people around you. But it is not entirely natural and you have a bunch of windows that if you are looking at them are solid. It is cool to “immerse yourself in a scene” like being in the Rockies or in a winter snow scene, but feels too weird.
– The sound is very good without earplugs. So playing Apple Music is nice.
Downsides:
– It is heavy. I had it on for about 45 minutes playing with various things this morning and it is not something you can wear for a long time. There is a fair amount of weight that rests on the cheekbones and leaves a mark.
– While I can see things around me, there is this separation from my surroundings that is just weird and more overwhelming than Airpods for example.
– Marlise makes fun of me. When I got them 2 days ago I was playing with them and she took a picture of me and sent it to the family and they all piled on that I looked pretty silly. Which is true…
Summary
I could see future versions being somewhat useful as they become lighter and make you feel less separated from the world. Kind of a combination of the old Google Glasses with the features of Vision Pro.
Here are a couple of the funny pictures from our Dev team after I sent out my notes:
