Review: Apple Vision Pro

Headset: Apple Vision Pro

Manufacturer: Apple

Price point: Expensive

Our verdict: 

“An elegant headset with real, stand-alone computing power and stunning definition displays with a thoughtful user interface.”

Nick Culley, Co-Founder and Managing Director at ExR Education

About the Apple Vision Pro

It’s not often Apple outdoes itself. But with its mixed reality (MR) headset, it’s achieved the extraordinary.

• GQ’s Robert Leedham states the Apple Vision Pro is its ‘most thrilling first-gen product since the iPhone’.
• Forbes’s David Phelan was so taken aback by the headset that it was ‘a moment or two’ before he could speak afterwards.
• The Guardian’s Samual Gibbs hailed the headset ‘cutting-edge’, affirming it 'lives up to the hype’.

I absolutely agree with them all.

Its displays are superior, the user interface is intuitive, and passthrough optics have zero lag. Unlike other MR headsets that rely on Android operating systems, the Apple Vision Pro has real computing power (thanks to an optimised system). Side cameras and infrared illuminators offer dexterity that other headsets do not. You can glance with your eyes and tap your finger and thumb together to select things, without needing to point at anything, meaning your hands can simply relax at your sides or in your lap.

And that’s only the start.

Apple Vision Pro Review: Key Features

When I used the Apple Vision Pro (AVP) to watch one of our surgery VR training experiences, I was completely taken aback. Not only could I expand content to feel as though I was in my own personal theatre (literally), but the spatial audio was of a quality that made me question whether I was actually in the operating theatre itself. However, thanks to the dual micro-LED displays and their 23 million pixels of imagery, the passthrough vision assured me I wasn’t. (It’s a feature the likes of Meta and Pico are surely now scrambling to replicate.)

Nick using ExR on the Apple Vision Pro via WebXR

Onto the other features that’re no doubt getting developers excited for the future of MR headsets. During my Apple Vision Pro review, I experienced the headset’s:

1. Superior operating system

‘Essentially an iPad on your face’ is the easiest way to describe the Vision Pro’s superior operating system. But it’s an iPad you control with gestures and quality vision tracking rather than taps and swipes. The tech giant has clearly injected a healthy stack of cash into developing this headset, and it shows. The first-generation Pro has already outpaced the competition, solving the hardware interaction problems that MR headsets have become accustomed with.

2. Comfortable fit

With the customised fit, adjustable head straps to secure the device at the back and easily pocketable battery, the device is more comfortable to wear for longer, compared to other headsets. It’s the best of both worlds – the VR display is the highest definition I've ever seen, yet it’s still comfy to wear and easy to adjust. In fact I use the AVP to produce much of the content on our platform, from capture to editing, the device allows me to monitor the footage natively.

3. Excellent visual experience

By and far, the Apple Vision Pro provides the most spectacular visual experience out of all the headsets I’ve ever tested or used – and probably those I’ve not, too. Both eyes have their own 4K display, providing clear visuals and granular details for the surgical medical device training videos I was immersed in. At the same time, video passthrough was crisp and sharp, with zero lag – ideal for interacting with people and objects in the real environment. The sheer clarity of what you see and experience is exceptional, paired with an equally intuitive interface. After all, you wouldn’t expect anything less from Apple.

Room for Improvement 

Despite all these glowing features, my Apple Vision Pro review doesn’t come without a couple of (albeit small) gripes.

First, there’s no hiding that the superior piece of MR tech comes with an expensive price tag. At time of writing, Apple was advertising the Pro with a start price from £3,499. It’s unsurprising given the sheer quality and difference of the headset, but the cost risks the Vision Pro alienating itself from getting in front of the users who’ll benefit from it the most.

Second, while the hand and eye tracking are high quality, reliance on them alone for full immersive content isn’t ideal.

Third, cameras that are able to record at high enough quality to match the Pro's displays are lacking. But, it’s an area we reckon camera manufacturers will improve, with the likes of Blackmagic Design stepping up to offer seriously high resolution capture devices.

Worth it? 

So, the big question – does my Apple Vision Pro review mean the headset is worth the £3k+ price tag?

Definitely.

Surgery VR Experiences on the Apple Vision Pro

I used the AVP on surgery VR content from our medical training platform, ExR Education. It's been optimised to work using 'WebXR', a web standard for immersive content. Any headset, from the Apple Vision Pro to the considerably more affordable Meta Quest 2 and lower-end 3DoF devices can access ExR content via a web browser within the headset. (That’s with or without controllers.)

Our 360° medical VR content will automatically load in immersive mode rather than in a flat player, like it does on your laptop or phone. Whether you’re practising core clinical skills or learning a new emergency procedure, the ability to fully immerse yourself in a virtual medical setting offers an entirely remote yet engaging way to enhance your training.

Ready to Immerse Yourself in Surgical VR Training? 

Like Apple’s next gen of the Vision Pro that’s probably already being tested and tweaked somewhere in the world, we’re always improving our medical VR training platform. In the future, our FullVR experiences will be available on the Apple Vision Pro, so keep your eyes peeled on our blog for that announcement.

In the meantime, grab which ever headset you have (the ExR platform works on most) and get started with our VR healthcare training, free to NHS users. You can find our VR collections using the WebXR interface via the browser in the headset or by clicking here to join the growing ExR Education community.