Posts Tagged → vision pro

My Apple Vision Pro Order

Today, I woke up at 4:30 AM so I could give Apple $4,000 for a product I’ve never tried before. Crazy.

The order process went smoothly (at first). I was able to get through the checkboxes fast enough. There are upgrades for additional memory. An extra $200 will double your storage to 512GB, and an extra $400 will get it to 1TB. There is also Applecare for $499 or $25/mo.

I had a lot of questions about glasses. My distance vision is 20/20, but I need readers for books and screens. A dialog box asked if I needed glasses, and then it asked what kind of glasses. I ticked the box for readers and told them 1.5-1.75 works for me, and that was it. I was not required to upload a prescription.

My final order was a 512GB device (probably dumb to add the extra storage). I did not order any additional accessories. I’m going to wait to see how I use the device first. Then I clicked the button to pay and (foolishly) picked Apple Pay in haste. The problem is that my business card is not part of Apple Pay. (My bank only supports Apple Pay for personal cards, not business cards.) I had a moment of crisis there but decided I’d go ahead and pay on my personal card and let my accountant sort it out. 

The app gave me a 9:00 AM pick up time at my local Apple Store on February 2, and I was good to go. I pushed the Buy button.

Declined.

I have no idea why. That card has a balance of a few hundred dollars and plenty of credit. Likely a fraud thing.

So I switched (in Apple Pay) to my company debit card. The only problem was that my pickup window was then gone, so I had to pick a new one. 11:30 on February 2. Check. Press Buy.

Declined.

Again, I have no idea why. Plenty of money to pay for this ridiculous headset.

So then, I canceled the checkout. I figured at that point I had a 50/50 chance that pushing that cancel button would reset the whole transaction, and then I wouldn’t be able to get one–since I’d lost my place in line. At that point, I was okay with that potential outcome.

So I pressed Cancel.

Good news? It didn’t cancel the transaction but just brought me back to the screen where I could choose to pay via Apple Pay or traditionally with my company card (as I usually do with Apple transactions). Now the first available time is 3:00 PM on February 2. Click Buy.

Transaction failed. The allotted time is already taken. Pick a new one. 

So this went on multiple times. I’d pick a time, and then it was no longer available when I pushed to buy a second later. It finally worked with me picking up at 12:30 PM on February 3.

So success? I think? I have to admit I’m mixed about spending so much on a product I haven’t tried and don’t fully understand. I’m hoping that there is a productivity/contextual computing story around this headset, and the only way I’m going to really know that is to try it for myself. So I have some trepidation and am mindful of that return window. But I’m also excited to try something entirely new from Apple. So often, it is when they come to an existing platform with their own unique spin that Apple does their best work, and I want to see them do that again. Either way, here we go.

P.S. For you Mac Power Users listeners, Stephen also got one, so we’ll be sharing thoughts soon.

The Vision Pro: Popularity, Availability, and Iteration

I’ll join the digital queue this Friday morning to purchase my Vision Pro. This is an interesting product as we head towards its launch because it appears that while it won’t be a big seller (on an Apple scale), it may still be hard to buy.

If the rumors are true, those fancy screens are hard to make and will limit the number of units Apple can ship. I also can’t help but wonder if Apple doesn’t particularly want to make this first iteration of the Vision Pro something that sells in the millions. I suspect they are still figuring out the product category themselves and getting feedback from a few hundred thousand users will give them a lot of good ideas.

The Vision Pro is expensive, and the story is unclear. A lot of the Apple faithful will pass, at least initially. This point landed for me in a recent MacSparky Labs meetup. Labs Members like Apple products. A lot. Yet we had a room full of Apple fans and only a few of them intend to buy one. Again, I expect that is due to the price and the fact that people aren’t sure what they would do with it.

The interesting point is that despite the fact that demand for the Vision Pro is lower than for other Apple products, the rumored limited quantities could still make it hard to get. (Strange, right?)

Regardless, the story of this product is not about its first iteration. Apple is thinking long-term, as they always do. Fourteen years ago, John Gruber wrote about how iteration is Apple’s superpower. Here we go again.

Apple Vision Pro Thoughts

It’s a big week for those contemplating buying a Vision Pro. Apple has always prided itself on only releasing products when they are “done.” While I have no doubt that the Vision Pro is done, I also think the use case for the product is far from done…This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?

The Vision Pro Software Question

One of the bigger questions around the looming release of the Vision Pro is software. Specifically, will there be any, and will it be any good? We don’t know yet. We’ve seen some offerings from Apple and some limited offerings from third parties, but now that we have a shipping date on the hardware, announcements are starting to roll out. The Omni Group announced OmniPlan will be on the new hardware. I suspect they’ll be announcing more. This is where the companies that adopted SwiftUI will get their payoff.

But it’s too early to tell whether a healthy software stack will be available to us on Day One. The device could be focused on enterprise-style software, given its cost. But I could equally see a lot of the better developers getting apps on it despite its small initial adoption so that they can have their flag planted. We’ll see.

Vision Pro Launches on February 2

It looks like the rumors got this one right. The Vision Pro will go on sale on the January 19, and deliveries will begin on February 2. No word yet on availability. The rumors are saying that those screens are hard to make and that will limit availability, but at the same time, the device is $3,500. I can’t imagine a lot of people are going to be lining up to pay that much.

(But, of course, I will.)

Spatial Video Demonstrations

John Gruber spent more time with Vision Pro, focusing on the Photos app, including Spatial Video and panoramic photos. In short, John was impressed, and this is just the first iteration of this stuff.

These things are hard to predict. (It took a pandemic for video chat to get legs.) Nevertheless, as families and friends are spread to the four winds, this holodeck-like experience could be a big deal. Moreover, I’ve lost enough people to appreciate how memories fade. My dad died over 30 years ago, and I’d give a lot to be able to feel his presence again, even if just part of a silly spatial video file.

If this takes off, it could become a killer feature for Apple’s future Vision products. And as explained by John, when iOS 17.2 releases you’ll be able to start recording those spatial videos immediately with your iPhone 15 Pro, even if you don’t yet own a Vision Pro headset.

Vision Pro in the Wild

AppleInsider’s Mike Wuerthele got some hands-on time with the Vision Pro and reports in. On the video passthrough, Wuerthele explains, “The part I’ve been most skeptical about is how well the Apple Vision Pro passes through the surroundings to the user. The short version is that it does it very well, with crisp and clear images most of the time.”

I think when it comes to this product, it’s going to need to be something you spend some time with before purchase. I’m curious how they will accommodate that in Apple Stores.

Apple Software Beta Day

Today Apple released the second developer beta builds. This second beta usually deals with any obvious problems from beta 1 plus starts to show the areas where they are willing to reconsider decisions. As users, these early betas are the best time to weigh in on bits we’d like to see changed. The further the train gets down the track, the harder it is to back it up. I’d guess we’ll get beta 3 in another few weeks and, hopefully, before that, a public beta. My fingers are crossed.

Perhaps even more noteworthy, Apple also released the Vision Pro Software Development Kit (SDK). This is the first release of this SDK for the new platform. One of the nice bits about being in Cupertino during WWDC week was observing my indie developer friends’ eyes as they discussed developing for the new platform. To date, there has been no “killer” augmented reality apps. Indie developers plan on changing that.

Early Vision Pro Feedback

Several journalists got to strap into the new Apple Vision Pro headset. Three of my favorite reads are from Matthew Panzarino, Jason Snell, and Chance Miller. I’ve also spoken to several others here in Cupertino that got the demo. Every person I’ve spoken to that got to try Vision Pro praises the technology. This truly is one of those “only Apple” products. There is no other company with the hardware and software expertise to pull it off. The 12-millisecond latency is something that particularly stands out.

The question that we’ll be asking ourselves is how this technology can change our lives. Looking back at the Apple Watch, Apple initially leaned into it as a fashion product but eventually came around to the idea that it is primarily a health and fitness device. I think for the Vision Pro, the killer use case will be even more stratified. Some people will want them to consume content. Imagine having an IMAX-equivalent screen you can strap on your head or watching your favorite sport virtually on the field next to your favorite players. I love the idea of creating virtual workspaces where I could journal in the middle of Yosemite or do some work while enjoying the view from Machu Picchu. I also like the idea of a seemingly 40-foot whiteboard that I could use in my 14-foot office.

The answer to how we’d use this is going to be “it depends on the person.” Can Apple continue to nail and improve upon this technology? Likely. Will this technology reach critical mass as it gets more affordable? That depends on whether there are enough good reasons for it.