Vision Pro leaves users 'super impressed' as Apple takes bold step into the future

Apple unveiled its mixed reality headset called Vision Pro at WWDC 2023, ushering us into an era of spatial computing. Those who got a chance to get their hands on this exciting tech had a lot to say.

Apple Vision Pro will be available for purchase starting next year in the US. (Apple)

Apple has a habit of making some of the biggest announcements at the end of its presentations, and WWDC 2023 was no different. "One more thing…," that is how Apple introduced the iPhone X back in 2017, and when Apple unveiled the Vision Pro on Monday, the technology that was showcased has literally blown away everyone. While VR headsets like the new Meta Quest 3 and HTC Vive Focus 3 have been around for a while, mixed reality tech is on another level. Just like the one depicted in Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, Apple Vision Pro “seamlessly blends the digital world with the real world”, says Apple CEO Tim Cook.

While Vision Pro will not go on sale until next year, Apple has already held ‘heads-on' demos at Apple Park with several media personnel and developers getting a chance to try Apple's seemingly ‘dystopian future' tech, and they've got a lot to say about it.

Apple Vision Pro: Mind-blowing or just a gimmick?.

After trying the Vision Pro, YouTuber Marques Brownlee, popularly known as MKBHD, tweeted, “Just spent 30 minutes in the Apple Vision Pro headset. Y'all. I am. VERY impressed with a few specific things.” Apple says that there are 23 million micro-OLED pixels across displays, meaning there are more pixels in a postage stamp-sized area than what you can get on a 4K TV!

Harry McCracken, the global tech editor of Fast Company also got a hands-on experience of the Vision Pro and had some things to say about it. “I tried Apple Vision Pro. Unlike some VR/AR gear, it was much neater in a real demo than as a canned presentation on a flat screen. A recognizably polished Apple experience and easily the most sprawlingly ambitious thing it's shipped in the Cook era,” McCracken wrote on Twitter.

Reuters tech hardware reporter Stephen Nellis also got a chance to try the Vision Pro with an immersive demo. Nellis tweeted, “Apple demoed several immersive videos, including one where a tight rope walker is coming toward you on a rope strung between two mountains. It's hard not to look down or feel the sense of height, like you're there on the rope. The overall effect of the immersive video is like being able to step into a movie.”

Shortcomings

While the Vision Pro has left people impressed, there are some shortcomings too. “Now let's go over perhaps the weakest part of the demo: The FaceTime call. But...the persona is close but not perfect, sitting 100% in the uncanny valley, where it gives an unsettling android vibe. Full credit to Cupertino for trying something that's very hard, but it ain't there yet,” Nellis wrote.

While there will be more reactions from tech experts over the next few weeks, the initial impressions have left us with a sense of excitement about what's to come when Apple finally releases Vision Pro in the wild.