PRICE From $3,499 from apple.com (US only for now)
“What the heck is happening?” That’s what I said to myself as I played virtual DJ, spinning two records in front of me with a crossfade knob and special effects I could control with my hands in mid-air. I just reached out and touched them.
I had a similar what-the-heck moment — in a good way — when I just looked at my MacBook to connect and supersize its display on the wall in front of me. Then I pinned the Apple Music app to the left of my desk and Slack to the right. This is what Apple means by spatial computing.
And I was left almost speechless when I viewed a 3D spatial video of my three dogs coming towards the camera. It’s so immersive you may get a bit emotional. Oh, and you can watch regular 3D movies in Apple TV+ that blow away your local cinema.
In short, the Apple Vision Pro is the most innovative product Apple has created in more than a decade and a fascinating look at the future of computing and entertainment rolled into one very sleek package. But early bugs and numerous weird things come along with this revolution, including a freaky digital Persona version of yourself that can appear in FaceTime calls.
■ The real price
Price and availability both count against it, too: for an undisclosed amount of time, it’s available only in the USA. The $3,499 entry-level model comes with 256GB of storage, and it’s $3,699 for 512GB and $3,899 for 1TB. Wear glasses? There’s no room for them in this sleek headset. If you use reading glasses, the Zeiss optical inserts “for readers” cost $99, while prescription lenses cost a surprisingly reasonable $149; I also like how easily they magnetically attach to the Vision Pro.
That’s where the good news ends. When you’re spending this much on a headset that is so hard to repair – iFixit has given it a provisional 4/10 for repairability (tinyurl.com/355ifixit) due to the fragile components – protection is recommended. In this case, that means spending an additional $499 for Apple Care+, which gives you two years of unlimited repairs.
Apple is offering numerous accessories, too, including Belkin’s battery holder for $49. However, the one I recommend most is the $199 travel case, which is bulky but will protect the Vision Pro when you’re flying or
