Apple Vision Pro Owners Are Struggling to Figure Out What They Just Bought

It’s a native feature of the device that allows its user to get enormous amounts of attention, in real life and subsequently online, by simply wearing it in public.

Sounds horrible. I guess I’m not someone who seeks attention at any cost like some people, it public is the last situation I’d use this thing in. I would feel like a complete dumbass wearing it at a coffee shop and waving my hands around.

It's the same problem google glass had. It can be the most information rich and user friendly device in the world but if you look like a dingus wearing it, it will never catch on.
- That's what I thought about the elephant tusk looking AirPods yet here we are.
  
  The Reality Distortion Field sometimes makes things hard to predict when it comes to Apple products.
- What if I already look like a dingus?
Yeah, last thing I want is more attention while wearing those things and the chance that people will be able to hear the audio from the pr0n I'd be watching on it.
- The masturbating in public might be a dead give away too
- https://nypost.com/2024/02/05/tech/apple-vision-pro-blasted-as-3500-chastity-belt-for-blocking-porn/
Its a 3500 dollar computer you wear on your face, that can only perform basic computing tasks which can more cheaply be performed on a cell phone, draws enormous amounts of attention to the user when used in public spaces, and both the ability to use it in public spaces and the attention drawing nature of it are marketed as pros.

Ok, so its now exceedingly clear that anyone who would get this thing is a wealthy idiot who has 0 experience with an impoverished community, as if you walked through a poorer area, you would just get mugged and have this high value device stolen from you.

And frankly at this point I would morally support that happening.

Not that it likely will, as anyone both dumb amd rich enough to have this happen to them generally has no kind of on foot commute through any such impoverished area.
The creator of the Apollo app recently tooted about wearing his out in public, getting noticed, and then secreting away to his hotel because the attention made him uncomfortable.

I’m probably more of an Apple fan than I like, but I can’t imagine owning one of these, let alone wearing it out in public.
It seems like Apple kind of forgot that good tech should first be good tech. They’re leaning heavy on this being a lifestyle item, but like - there’s no lifestyle out there that hinges on looking like boring versions of the guy from ready player one.
- @christianselig@mastodon.social
  
  Made the mistake of wearing the Vision Pro at a coworking space and some youths saw it through the window and started yelling “YOOOOO Vision Pro!! yoooooo” so now I’m going to my hotel
  
  lmao, poor guy.
- That makes sense... he's a fairly normal person. I could see using the Vision Pro at a co-working place anyway, especially for someone who's an iOS app developer.
  
  It does seem like an oddly clunky device by Apple standards. I don't find the overall idea abhorrent and could picture owning one down the road - perhaps after they've had a few years to make the device smaller and less expensive. I have no idea what I'd use it for though. Maybe once there are more exciting games than repackaged mobile games like Super Mega Fruit Ninja.
- boring versions of the guy from ready player one.
  
  Feels like there's some redundancy here.
Yep, no chance I'm drawing that much attention to myself.
And it'll get snatched from you faster than an iphone
- Simple solution. Kensington lock attached to the gonads. The device can helpfully warn others against theft with an LED projection on the wearer saying Big Cojone Security is active.
I want it like crazy. No chance I'll wear it in public after I pull the trigger.

I probably would throw it in my backpack on hikes to do some captures of stuff like waterfalls and nice mountain views. They're really nice and not something you can do with my regular camera.
- How does that work? Does it stitch together panoramas?
- That’s why I bought one. To record spatial videos. I already tried it and without the straps (which pop off easily) you just pick it up and hold it like a camera, record video with your hands on it like a camcorder, then put it back down. It’s very much like just putting an old school camcorder to your eye for a few seconds. And there is no way in hell I’m wearing it in public except on an airplane maybe

They bought themselves into a beta test/focus group. Apple still doesn’t know what this will be. It might be a Newton MessagePad. Or it might be the iPhone.

Apple is great at polishing and packaging things that already exist. The iPhone was a better Blackberry, the iPod a better MP3 player, the iMac a better all-in-one PC… I have a hard time thinking of stuff they truly pioneered. The Newton maybe? That did not end well for them.

If I had to bet, the Vision Pro will turn out to be a burnt pancake, but long term I have no doubt that something like it — something that augments reality one way or another — will become a thing. And in the meantime Apple has pockets more than deep enough to survive a failed Vision Pro.

The backlash against them trying to innovate is kind of dumb though. They aimed high for a change, and taking risks like this should be lauded not laughed at.
- The problem is they didn't aim high enough. AR/VR lives or dies on software. And for what they launched, it barely has the OS, and apparently that thing, although very polished UX wise, on security it's a swiss cheese. And few people has the pockets to develop apps for it.
- They are still failing, in 2024, to put touch capability into their computers. This isn't a company that does innovativion well, and it hasn't been for over 15 years. It's totally fine to scoff at this attempt.
There was quite a different reaction to the iPhone when it launched, so I'm pretty confident it's not the latter.
It's 100% not anything like the original iPhone. Say what you will, it will never be that.
- I just meant as successful. They’ve had several. The original iPod. The iPad. They’ve also had duds. The newton. The HomePod. The Pippin. Ping

Do we really want to live in a world where people are walking around with these things on their face, gesturing around like they are insane?

It's bad enough to witness how awful public spaces have become since smartphones came out, but this is next level zombie.

It is inevitable to a degree. Obviously this is not the final form and I’m sure the goal is to make a more fashionable solution that fits into their phone/watch/airpods kind of edc strategy. But no doubt we’ll have a future where info is right there if we want it. This thing is the foray into developing that eventual product for Apple. To me it looks real dumb, but a sleeker version in the future that looks like glasses…well shit it might be nice to watch a show while washing dishes idk.
- But no doubt we’ll have a future where info is right there if we want it.
  
  But we're already there. It's called a smartphone.
  
  The value add of replacing a pocket watch or a cellphone with a device about the same size that also fits in your pocket but also gives you access to all the world's information in seconds is immense. And that's why the smartphone revolutionized the world.
  
  The value add of having that information strapped to your face at all times is... just not worth the physical discomfort of having said device strapped to your face.
  
  I say this as a VR user. A device strapped over your face really sucks and you can't wait to take it off. The only reason to tolerate it is that that's the only way to trick your senses into thinking you are somewhere else.
- I was looking forward to the Google glass. Not because it was Google but because if a heavy hitter drops something more usually follow. To bad it flopped. I would love having something like that instead of my phone. Especially once there's prescription versions of them.
- Yea, while it's way out of my price range and looks a little goofy, this is exactly what I've been hoping for as the next step to VR. AR (or whatever Apple wants to call it) is super fascinating, and will be pretty much the main reason for me to get a headset in the first place.
  
  While it may have issues, I'm really excited to see how the market reacts to it, hopefully occulus or another company will try and compete. Feels weird to say, but I'm hoping Apple finds success with it
If people can behave, I don't care what they wear or what they watch
- About 200,000 years of history proves that we cannot lol
- Did you not see the video of the guy wearing his new tim apple ski goggles, in his semi-self driving Tesla cyber truck?
  
  What makes you think people can behave?
- I want you to imagine a subway car, where 50% of the people have these on their face.
  
  They are waving their hands around, sometimes accidentally hitting other passengers because of it.
  
  They are too distracted to even catch their stop, so there's always extra chaos because of it.
  
  Some are using apps that record what they are seeing and makes other passengers "naked" in their headset, which they share online. Privacy is a thing of the past because they can record what they see.
  
  Imagine nobody being able to even have a conversation with other people, or make human connections with strangers, because the person across from them has a digital mask on, and you have no idea if they are even aware of what's going on around them.
  
  Sure, you can have a great number of people "behaving" in this scenario, but is this something you want society to become? I don't. It deprives the human experience to an absurd extent.
Sliders on Peacock Season 4 Episode 4, “Virtual Slide”. Worth watching as this episode from 1998 realistically conveys the dystopian potential of VR/AR headsets. The headsets are centrally controlled and wirelessly networked. Topics covered include privacy violations, IP theft, manipulation of reality, social decay, virtual image and body autonomy, nested reality. It’s only taken 26 years to create a convincing reality that allows someone to wear the headset publicly with minimal problems. The fact that Apple hit the target on a 1.0 product is actually frightening. What will another 30 years of development bring?
Do we really want to live in a world where people are walking around with these things on their face, gesturing around like they are insane?

You've seen someone talk on radio earbuds when the phone's in their pocket? It's the second most creepy thing I've ever seen with a phone conversation.
- I've had people looking at me while they are talking to people on concealed earbuds. It's embarrassing if you respond to them as if they were actually talking to you. But how would you know who the hell they are talking to? 🤷‍♂️
I’m old enough to remember the advent of two of the most annoying pieces of electronics ever…

The Bluetooth earpiece - which made everyone having a conversation look like they were either talking to themselves or possibly schizophrenic.

Those god-awful push to talk walkie talkie type phones from mainly Nextel - which not only made you privy to the both parties conversation but had the freaking awfully loud and obnoxious beep in between switching parties talking. I wanted to strangle anyone using one in a restaurant.

I’m not sure that as a species we are capable of being present in the moment and not searching for that next hit of dopamine from a device with a screen. And Lord knows I’m as guilty as the next person.
- I’ve had the Nextel beep as my SMS tone for almost 20 years now. Phone is usually on vibrate but the tone is there.
  
  … I also have the “science is fun” song from Portal as my ringtone because it starts out with a noise that I can hear above the din and quickly gets really loud if I didn’t hear it. I had it as the Turret “hello?” sequence for a bit but that was super creepy.
Wh do you care?

It’s an AR iPad. It’s not that deep.

I would love to walk around with a video playing in a fixed hud while I go around doing chores. I'm constantly finding places to put my phone down every time I move to another station.

I'm not paying $3500 for that, though.
- That was the idea of Google glasses but it was too early and tech wasn't ready. It was gonna give you just enough useful info and get out of the way.
  
  Plus Google haters made "glass-holes" viral.
- I'm working on an open source version of an AR OS that can run on any Android phone, so you (will be) in luck!
- This is like 20€
- The windows don’t come with you, you’d have to look at the corner and pinch to carry it around, then when you let go it anchors wherever you left it
- Get a pair of Viture glasses then, it's about $500
- If you weren't aware https://youtube.com/shorts/zhXLC7n62YQ?si=TSu1p-WixFcbSxb2
It's not even AR... Didn't they back down from that? Isn't it mixed reality or something?
- How is augmented reality different from mixed reality? Genuine question. They sound like the same thing.
I hate Hate HATE that I'm going to say this: the iPad was just a bigger iPhone, yet here we are. It's the perfect device for consumption and light work, yet people had no idea about what to do with it at first.

I'm more irked about that thing being gigantic and strapped to your face, thought. It's the next level of social isolation, in a level even higher that the one cause by smartphones, and I'm not ok with that. Companies actually want to hijack and sell your reality back to you.
- I think part of the "what do I do with this" factor for the iPad was that Apple (and other companies still to this day) were so hell bent on making everything smaller and more compact that releasing a larger product was marketing whiplash. Not to mention that smartphones were being pitched as this "do everything device" so why would you need anything else?
  
  After you get over that marketing sugarcoating, it becomes pretty obvious what you'd use an iPad for. Internet and media consumption at a larger scale than your phone, easier on your eyes than a phone, but retains at least some of the lightweight smaller form factor that separates it from a regular laptop. Sure you didn't have the stick it in your pocket advantage of a phone or the full keyboard and computational power of a laptop, but there was this in-between that for a modest fee, you could have the conveniences if you can live with/ignore the sacrifices.
- I’m with you. AR and VR has potential, absolutely, but companies are not our friends and they’ll find ways to exploit these things to the detriment of us. They always do.
  
  We all know that these companies aren’t above lying straight to our faces. They’re even undermining the concept of ownership so they can milk us even further.
  
  It’s sad, but I don’t see a reality where this kind of tech being closed off and proprietary will ever end well.

They are people who paid $4000 to be a voluntary QA team.

Is Apple heading down the road of Windows now? Release beta software and use the scream test to debug it?
- Nah, it just has no apps, a poor battery life and like all new Apple product lines will be massively put to shame by its successors.
- You mean selling unrepairable beta products of questionable usefulness at insane prices?
- When iPhone was released App Store didn't even exist. A smartphone without apps is just a phone and VR glasses without apps are just a 360 degree monitor you wear on your face. I think Apple's reasoning here is to provide the hardware and see what people do with it.
- Now?

People who paid relatively a lot to feel that they are on with progress and have good taste. These are not things you can directly buy.

Of course, you can buy knowledge and powerful tooling, but I don't see such hype over digital libraries and good e-ink readers, or over learning programming among Apple fans.

On good taste specifically - Apple has always marketed itself as brand connected to that and has always been the opposite of good taste. I gave up trying to understand that long ago.

And exactly to prove your point I want to mention phone cases with a cutout so you can see the apple logo.
- And the whole green / blue messages bullshit. Apple never misses an opportunity to remind it's users they're paying a premium and everyone else is a plebe.
- Don’t they all? I’ve never looked for a case showing the logo, but every case I’ve ever had show it
And besides the tech bros with the throw away money, many of the people who have bought this thing are “influencers” and now are having trouble figuring out how to make content with or about this thing, because it’s early adopter play tech and has very little actual use, so the influencers are the ones putting out videos like “what would I even do with this?”
- It's a devkit, that apple is even selling these things to 'users' is idiotic.
- Hilarious. It doesn't even look cool to wear it. It's slightly better than Google Glass, but what are you going to do with it?
Its just a cash grab company that didnt yet collapse, because of its hype around it and its fanboiiiiis. And everybody supporting apple are just those who are deeply invested into that closed ecosystem. If apple dies out for any reason, they are screwed because their products are bricked without apple.
- Give them credit for acting since the beginning the way all bigger tech companies do now.
I guess this is the new gold standard for douchebag detection. That used to be the gold apple watch, but this feels like a more glaring example.
- What sucks is that at some point iPad marketing and Apple aesthetic etc felt for me a bit as if it's going in the direction of the
  
  hype over digital libraries and good e-ink readers, or over learning programming among Apple fans
  
  for real, and I think that's intentional, just like with M1 and adopting a Unix-like OS and what not, and some series on Apple TV not being that stupid, they always tease you in subtle ways, never ultimately delivering.
  
  Its center of mass is definitely on the douchebag side, but until you clearly see their every move and retrospect over 20 years or so, you are never sure.

Apple Vision Pro Owners Are Struggling to Figure Out What They Just Bought

Im struggling to figure out why Apple Vision Pro Owners threw out $3500 on a device without knowing what they can use it for

Apple puts out a product, Apple users buy the product. Nothing to figure out.
- I just wonder how much Apple would make selling empty boxes and marketing them as such.
If Apple actually developed the technology in a sensible way, and that's a big if, it could actually be a really interesting product.

Right now it's a bit limited as essentially it is a very very expensive second display which only works with Apple devices.
If I had so much money that 3500 dollars didn't matter to me, I'd have one.

From what I've seen on it, I'd play with it for a day and forget about it.

Maybe an hour. Seems like it's pretty cool but there's nothing on the headset worth buying the headset for, even at half the cost. Even at a third.

They bought Tim Cook a new private jet. I thought they'd have figured by now.

"Just park it next to the others."
He doesn't own one already?
- That's why they said a new one. Only peasants have just one private jet.
- He needs two so he can Van Damme between them.
- He only has 6, he needs 1 more for Sundays
- Why own one when you can own two?

People walking around with them on is basically just their wait of saying "look at my butthole!"

Wait, are they ONLY wearing these? Because otherwise how are you seeing their butthole?
- You're going to tell me they sold 3500$ goggles without the xray specs the first Quest units had accidentally?
  
  If I'm going to drop a rent payment on some bulky Overwatch Tracer goggles then they sure as hell will do x-ray specs.
- It gets displayed on a screen on the front of the device
- Yeah. It's like the emperors new clothes. Only other "acceptable" humans with the same ecosystem buy-in can see their virtual clothes.
  
  Everyone else needs to look at their buttholes.
Remember the Google Glassholes?
For a second on my mind I Imagined a butt dildo with a night vision camera at the top... I am not going to check if that exists.

Huh. And here I am, like some poor person, with no AR headset and $3500 extra in my bank account. I feel like such an idiot.

In this economy, most people don't even have that in their account. I guess that's part of the status bit... If you have these, who can say your not doing well?

In reality, it just makes them look like the assholes they very likely are.
You're definitely not like a poor person if you've got $3,500 lol

A 4K USD electronic device that's what they bought....if they needed its features not sure but... that's what they bought.

A 4K USD ~~electronic~~ status device

FTFY
needed its* features
- Thanks, its no tits
- My phone autocorrects this wrong frequently, like it's life depends on it. One can assume GP typed the correct thing.

The people who buy something like this (hopefully) have enough money where $3,500 doesn't matter or are developers who want to get in early on something that might be big in a few versions.

Everyone else should avoid.

These are the early adopters phase. This always happens with high-end tech. I'm not sure how advanced this set is compared to the competition in order to justify that price.

Yeah, but they have it, and in the end, isn't that what matters?? /s

Honestly, I think they might say the same thing without the /s.

They got a hololens, but like 8 years later, for the same price, and still just as useless.

try a thousand more than the horrorlens lol. Our hololens 1 and 2 devkits were $2400 iirc.
- Wtf ever happened to hololens

An overpriced VR headset.

Arnt they all.

I got the original vive which just my beatsaber player but due yo having a wife a job and chit to get done it lives in its protective case and when I do get a min yo use it both controler batteries are dead due to time living in a box
- Jesus, reading this made me feel like I wrote this.
  
  I haven't touched my headset in months
- Translation for those who haven't just had a stroke -
  
  Aren't they all?
  
  I've got the original Vive, which is just my 'Beatsaber player' but due to having a wife, a job, and shit to get done, it lives in its protective case. When i do get a minute to use it both controller batteries are dead due to time living in a box
- If they are, then this vision pro is truly extortion.
  
  VR requires a bit of setup, which is off putting. I dont have the space to have mine out all the time, theres also a shortage of high quality games. Waiting on Valve to push the envelope again.
- They are. This said, $1,000 or less can buy you the best VR rig on the market right now. This thing is four times that.
Vr with passthrough
- Most modern headsets have passthrough, its not some new feature. It is the part that Apple focused on though.

Seems like most people are saying “this is dope for media,” and outside of that, it’s a glorified dev kit.

Yes, "media". That's what I call porn too. That said, get a real VR headset.
- Eh, I’m not buying the thing, but at least they’re doing some different stuff and have made some advancements for computing in AR / VR.
  
  I don’t see how this is any less “real” than the other headsets. It’s better with productivity and some multimedia stuff because of the crazy high PPI displays, but it also lacks a good game library at the moment, and the price to entry is pretty nuts.

Apple now is extracting maximum value from its most loyal customers.

I'd hope you'd know what you were spending this much money on if it wasn't just for online attention.

Isn't it for people who have ridiculously too much money to dump some of it? :-P

Never seen anyone wearing them or promoting/showing it off

I’ve seen a few people making fun of it, and that’s the only reason I know it exists

to live and die on the first generation of a device

I still have my old dev version of the Oculus. It came with fancy changeable lenses lol. I don't regret that one at all and now it kinda feels like a little piece of history

I know they look slick but, outside of clout chasers and brand fanatics, who spends $3500 on something without knowing why they're buying it?

Nobody does. This article is bullshit just to get clicks

This is America: you're either a duper or a dupee.

I'm a duper.

You guys are the dupees.

You guys all think I'm a hero and I'll accept that responsibility

“But I was still embarrassed this weekend when I had to stick a straw in my wine glass.” Soda cans are doable; coffee mugs are not. The first must-have Vision Pro accessory is a very long metal straw

Or this works too

So they bought Expensive Apple Thing because Expensive Apple Thing? I’ve had a decent quality HMD for a couple years. It’s a lot of fun and pretty amazing initially, especially if you have a game or two that really takes advantage of it. However, as a utility, it leaves a lot to be desired. I was really hoping to do CAD with it, there were some modestly priced design programs that looked ok along with some free ones, because that’s a big hobby of mine. It really doesn’t work very well. The toolset for decent CAD is fairly large. A tiny wrist menu isn’t going to cut it, and the ability to precisely manipulate nodes or vertices isn’t there. Same goes for even basic functions like desktops and normal computer functions. Sure, they work, but now you have to constantly be manipulating windows instead of having an extra monitor and kicking back in an office chair.

The AR aspect could be fun, but again you’re either the one creating this content via design software with the aforementioned difficulties, or you’re the one popping the HMD on to view what your home designer says would be a nice new kitchen cabinet set in your home. A useful tool, but not a substitute for a computing and design environment.

Have you ever included the innovative tablets into you CAD work?
- I am unfamiliar with that term, so I assume not.
I remember reading that it supports mouse and keyboard, but the main input control are hand motions
- Not sure what that means. My current HMD supports mouse and keyboard… but seeing as Apples HMD is standalone, I guess you can hook up a keyboard/mouse via buetooth? Mine works through the pc it’s hooked up to. Nice feature, but I wouldn’t call it earth shattering. Both VR headsets I’ve used support hand gestures, but I’ll assume Apple has improved upon detection and depth of vocabulary.

We should start calling these the "new oculus" or something. The marketing has been insane and neither Meta or Apple would benefit. It would be like when people called every console a Nintendo.

I’m going to the store do you want a Coke?
- Cornetto

Peak conspicuous consumerism. They just need to make an app for it that does nothing but costs $5k like the infamous “I am rich” app when the App Store just opened.

The current model has it's problems, but I really think this is the start of a new major product line for Apple. This isn't going to be relegated to only the rich forever. There are a few problems to over come. It needs to be lighter, it needs to be cheaper, and it needs better battery life. All of those should be somewhat resolved in the next 10 years. When it does, I think the market will explode.

The big selling point? TV. I know over the last few years I have kind of fought with my mom because she is hurting her viewing experience for the sake of aesthetics. The TV is mounted, but has a cabinet in front of it. It is loaded with tons of seasonal decorations. The reason? She can't stand the site of a cord. So instead, she has figures tall enough to cover part of the screen blocking the view of the TV, all so the cords can be hidden behind the figures. So yes, she loses part of the viewing area, and the remote doesn't work unless you get up and go to the side of the TV so the IR sensor isn't blocked, but it LOOKS better!!

The thing is, she isn't alone. I bought a TV last year. During the time researching it, I would see similar opinions to my mom's. Peopel would post pictures of their TV setup, asking if the size was OK, or if it should be higher, and the responses would be similar, telling the person to run cables through the wall, or get smaller stands or other complaints. It made me realize that many people care about those kind of things, and it will drive their purchase decisions.

All the Apple Vision Pro has to do is show them that you can have a TV, with no bezel, make it any size and position you want, you get rid of glare from the sun, and it has no visible cables. That alone is enough for people to want to buy it. It isn't there today, but it will get there in the somewhat near future.

Given that most non-enthusiasts I know would consider 500 € to be way too expensive for a TV, prices will have to come down a lot for that use case. Especially for families where everyone would need one.

Apple is definitely no contender in that market; their prices would have to go down by 90-95 % to interest the mass market and they're not interested in that kind of thin margin market segment.
- Once there is enough demand, some Chinese or Thai OEM - maybe the same one that manufactures these for Apple or Samsung - will sell them for a couple hundred Euro.
- The Quest is already pretty cheap. iPhones are not. The standard Vision will be half the price and people will buy it in droves with the right software.

It's an uncomfortable way to watch porn.

It is quite comfortable actually. The masturbation in public part, not as much

What a shock 🙄

This article is idiotic. People know they are buying a first gen spatial computer. It’s not like you accidentally spend $3500

Many average consumers probably don't specifically know what 'spatial' means, or what defines a computer vs a phone or whatever. People with too much money do spend 3500 carelessly, I have known a few of the types, and for the latest Apple technology I could see plenty of people buying it without even knowing what it really is.
- They know what spatial computer means because they watched Apple’s short video that explains the product and how it augments your environment. If people with too much money buy one, why do you care? You care about all the other dumb shit they waste their money on too?