Apple Vision Pro Review: You’ve gotta try this!

It’s unusual in 2024 that Australia doesn’t get first dibs on a brand new Apple Product, but with the Apple Vision Pro it’s been a 12 month journey to it’s launch here after first launching only in the USA in February. This Friday Apple Vision Pro goes on sale here in Australia for $5,999. Yep.

Now on the price, yes, it’s huge.. And no, it’s not out of context to the US price when you factor in taxes and all the overheads of being on this side of the world. However, it’s not going to be for everyone – based on that alone.

I said twelve months ago after trying it for the first time that “the killer app for Vision Pro is the App Store. The Success of Vision pro and Apple’s push into ‘Spacial computing’ rests with developers coming up with amazing ideas.”

As reported yesterday I even told Apple CEO Tim Cook face to face that it was the most amazing thing I’d ever used, but didn’t know what we need it for.

I’ve been using Apple Vision Pro in the comfort of my home and my office and even on a dark plane ride over the last week and can tell you that broadly, my views remain the same – it’s remarkable.

It’s a device in search of a killer app, but – one year on, the thing I will say that is changed in my overall view – I think that app will come, in fact I’m confident of it.

So, let me run you through a bunch of things that really blew me away – and things I don’t think you’ll see mostly if you get a Demo at your nearest Apple Store.

FaceTime with Spatial Personas

We all know what a Facetime call is right. It’s a video, you and one or several others. But if you make a Facetime call wearing Apple Vision Pro – your face isn’t visible – so what the hell do the others see?

They see your “persona”. This is in “Beta” at the moment, and I recall seeing several reviewers not pleased with this in the February USA drop. But I gotta tell you, I think it’s amazing. So it’s improved since then.

A standard “Facetime call” is cool, you see this weirdly 3D modelled version of the other person, and they you. If you call an iPhone or iPad, that person sees your “persona” while you see their video.

But, if someone else on the call is also using Apple Vision Pro, and you both choose “Spatial” in the settings of the call – things get wild. They become a 3D modelled represented person in your real-space.

They might be in front of you, or beside you, but you can get up, and they will see you up, and will even look UP at you.

If you walk around them, your audio will follow around them on their left and right speakers or headphones.

Honestly, this is the best virtual meeting experience I’ve ever had. I did one with some Apple Staff and was blown away, so arranged one with Stephen Fenech from TechGuide.com.au and with Kane Vato Muehlenbeck and just wanted a quick few photos, but it was so compelling we chatted for 20 minutes and tried any number of things. This is the future of virtual meetings. No question. Just need a way to get everyone on board!

Gaming on Apple Vision Pro

I am sure Beat Sabre will come at some stage, and given it’s probably the number one most used and talked about feature of Meta Quest, it needs to.

The team at Halfbrick who make Fruit Ninja created Super Fruit Ninja for Apple Vision Pro and it’s a fantastic example of the “Spatial computing” concept.

Your Sensei and Truffles the Pig are on the floor around you, the Fruit is fired from ground based cannons into the air and you swipe them with your hands. Super Fruit Ninja can read different hand movements to unlock other weapons in the game and is a whole lot of fun.

Hand tracking at this speed is a challenge, and probably why Beat Saber hasn’t happened yet. I found most success in Fruit Ninja with my hands spread wide apart at the fingers, and I think a combination of both developer enhancements and Vision OS improvements can make this even better.

The other game I tried was Warped Kart Racers. This is a Mario Kart meets Family Guy mashup, and it’s fun. Sit still but use your bare hands as controllers.

Simple concept, works well, heaps of fun!

TikTok on Apple Vision Pro?

Yes, I love TikTok. And wow, I was surprised to see a Vision Pro version of the TikTok App.

Even more surprised to tell you it’s amazing. The app initially opens as you’d expect – a vertical video. Pinch and swipe up to scroll.

Look at the comments icon and pinch to open up a side screen which stays active while the video plays and stays there as you scroll through video after video. Really cool.

Best of all, you can make it nice and big, sit back and doomscroll. Haters gunna hate, but it’s cool.

Sports a key to the success of Apple Vision Pro

I didn’t get to experience the NBA app during the peak of the season sadly, but demo’s I’ve seen have it running multiple screens alongside a main screen – this is the multi-screen sports experience people have longed for at home. The old “sports bar” style approach, something at best Kayo does on Apple TV.

Strangely, no Kayo app on Vision Pro yet. So can’t even see what they might do with it, but if they don’t do a four screen split I’d be utterly disappointed. Likewise it’s a bummer Stan Sport didn’t get some advanced programming happening ahead of the Olympics.

The best experience I’ve found thus far is the PGA Tour app.

Open up a leaderboard, choose a player to see their scorecard. For some (around 6-8) of their holes, there is the option to select the hole and see a 3D floating realistic model of that hole in the space in front of you, and see their shots for that hole play out in front of you. Really, Really cool.

The development required here for any sport requires investment. But to be at the forefront, you’ve gotta spend up big.

Perhaps that’s why Tim Cook saw so many business and enterprise customers getting on board the Vision Pro bandwagon.

It’s not there yet, but it feels very much like it will be – soon.

Immersive Video

Apple is bringing the world of 3D video back, in a big way.

Yes, some movies are available in 3D – I saw this searching “immersive” in Apple TV – and was sent out to Disney+ to watch Lion King in 3D. Worked great.

But now imagine an IMAX like almost all-round video experience.

The demo videos you’ll see on Apple TV and also in the Demo at Apple Stores range from being on a tightrope with some crazy lady over a canyon, to standing while wild animals run past you.

Then there’s the sport – again, a huge potential, and nothing new here, but immersive, all-round VR style experience of sport can be a game-changer.

Apple announced that Canon and Blackmagic were working on lenses and or cameras to film this, so again, cart – horse. We have to wait for content.

It will be the impressive part of any demo you do. I’m sure of that.

Watching TV and Movies on Apple Vision Pro

I sat down to watch a feature film last weekend. Loaded up and stretched that widescreen all along my wall. Must have been over 300 inches in “reality”.

It looks amazing, but can also be a small screen just off to the side of your email or whatever else you’re doing.

My problem – I’ve got a stunning 100 inch Hisense TV in my lounge-room, so – why not use that? Exactly. So instead of wearing a headset, I just sat back and enjoyed the movie on my TV.

But if you don’t have a big TV, don’t have room for one, or are thinking of buying one and you’re living alone – ahh, this might be the price of that big big TV? So – that’s an interesting area of consideration.

Personally, I didn’t find it the most remarkable way to watch.

I did watch F1 qualifying (Via Safari, logged into Kayo Sports), and it looked EPIC and most importantly even without AirPods it sounded epic too!

Does Apple Vision Pro work on a plane?

Yes, there is a “travel mode” you can enable which I guess neutralises all the sensors going wild with you shooting throuh through the air at 400+km/h.

I used it quickly on an international flight and it was a bit sketch to get going. Could have been poor lighting (I was doing in not quite dark but dimmed conditions during Dinner service so no one could see me!) – but I got travel mode going – it even suggested it which was good.

Windows I would place in “space” around me were hard to level – kinda felt angled, but in the end I got a nice big screen to watch Apple TV+

Disney Plus is the other option. Both allow content downloads onto Apple Vision Pro. Weirdly it took me ages to find the download option on Apple TV+ (required a “long click” to bring up that sub-menu)

the experience is awesome – and the screen dwarfs literally anything on a plane and the ability to recline with it in view makes it better than a tablet too!

Mac Screen and Productivity – Mac Virtual Display

If you’re using a Mac at any point in your day – this could be a big deal for you.

Sitting at my desk, I turned on the Virtual Display. This blackens your laptop or monitor, which is then displayed virtually in your spatial environment.’Sitting at my desk, I turned on the Virtual Display. This blackens your laptop or monitor, which is then displayed virtually in your spatial environment.

I was able to “place” my virtual display right onto my laptop, so the bottom of the screen was in line with the top row of keys on the keyboard, I estimate this created around a 46-50 inch screen. And I could have made it much bigger and placed it anywhere I wanted.

I think this needs Vision OS 2 to launch with support for wider and multiple displays, but overall, it’s a winner.

Sitting working, with my mac screen in front of me, I was able to have my messages, email and music in other windows – those powered by Apple Vision Pro not my mac, so in the end I got a solid multi-screen environment from my existing setup.

For this one, it really is a question of comfort – how long can you wear it for – that will determine how much use you get out of it.

Vision Pro app versus a iPad app running on Apple Vision Pro

Over a million apps available? Let’s be specific. Tim Cook told me “There’s now over 2000 apps that have been custom designed right for Vision Pro, and there’s over a million and a half that are compatible with Vision Pro.”

What that means is, over 2,000 apps have been made for Vision Pro.. The other 1.5 million have ticked a box to make them appear in the Vision Pro App Store. I downloaded “Cut the Rope” a fun game I used to love. It’s just a flat screen and you control it with points and pinches.

Hardly a decent example of Vision Pro to be honest.

So if you buy one, look for Vision Pro apps almost exclusively, to really experience the potential.

Wearing the Apple Vision Pro – is it comfortable?

Almost every time I put it on, the screen prompts me to move Vision Pro up. So my answer here is – it could be better. Clearly my “natural” position for it is lower than it wants, so it likely needs more padding lower on the cheek/nose to lift it that way.

I found using the optional strap that goes around the back and over the top of the head gave the best result in terms of long term use.

But I didn’t use it for more than probably 1.5 hours. Not because it wasn’t comfortable, but because there was no need.

If I was doing back to back conference calls on Facetime Spatial mode, I’d be in it all day.

If I had an F1 app with the option to run real-time driver cameras in multiple windows as well as data in some immersive graphical format, then yeah – count me in for a two hours grand prix session.

It didn’t once make me queezy – and that is something I’ve experienced on all the VR/AR headsets I’ve tried. That’s a huge, huge win.

Should you buy an Apple Vision Pro

That’s simple, if you’ve got $5,999 to burn – hell yeah!

But if that’s a lot of money for you, then you need to determine either how big of an early adopter you want to be, or how much faith you have in the developer community.

I’ve got heaps, so would absolutely consider it. Frankly, I’d hold onto one for the potential Facetime calls alone, let alone my aggressive excitement for more sport content.

Apple isn’t slowing down in this space, you bet your bottom dollar this is a huge part of their ten year plan, and this is just the first device.

Need another opinion on Apple Vision Pro?

For more Australian reviews of the Apple Vision Pro to read and view before you make up your mind, check out Stephen Fenech’s at TechGuide.com.au and Val Quinn’s review at GadgetGuy.com.au