Apple walked into the virtual and augmented reality world with the Vision Pro with a $3500 tag hanging on its offering. Two weeks later, a few reports of fans returning their spatial computing headset surfaced on the internet. However, the ground reality seems a bit different. Research found that “there doesn’t appear to be that much in the way of returns, and certainly not a cataclysmic flood”.
The news of returns emerged right at the end of Apple’s 14-day return policy window, so the dedicated customers might just want their cash back. The narrative that the return season is here began with Twitter sources and complaints about the headset. There are reasonable complaints by the returners — but to hold them up as a sign of mass returns isn’t right.
As pointed out by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the reasons for returning products circle around a few lines. For instance, several said the headset was too heavy and uncomfortable. The lack of apps, video content, and productivity features was disappointing for others. Some users complained about the headset’s glare and narrow field of view.
In contrast, others said it made them feel “isolated from family and friends” due to its lack of meaningful shared experiences and the difficulties in letting other people use it. But the case is different for everyone. Plenty of users are happy with the gadget and do not plan on returning it (at least anytime soon), including Gurman, who wrote the entire newsletter using the headset.
A Promise Made
The iPhone maker announced Vision Pro in June last year during the annual WWDC conference. “It’s the first Apple product you look through and not at,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. The product was saved for the end and given the most screen time (40 minutes!) in the chief’s keynote. The device’s promise was to change how humans and machines work together, which has been kept.
Apple has always focused on strengthening its ecosystem through every product it designs, be it a watch or earpods. The Cupertino giant has done a commendable job at allowing users to connect their Macs to the Vision Pro, making them seamless for work.
Marketed as ‘extraordinary new experiences’, Apple promised that Vision Pro would bring “a new dimension to powerful personal computing by changing the way users interact with their favourite apps, capture and relive memories, enjoy stunning TV shows and movies, and connect with others in FaceTime”.
The first version is not extraordinary given the limited number of options available since Netflix and YouTube can only be accessed via web browser, and FaceTime needs to develop further.
As The Wall Street Journal noted in an episode of Tech Things with Joanna Stern, the feature that lets users create 3D avatars for FaceTiming is awful. The quality of the persona needs to change massively to match the quality of our usual video calls. And it will, since it is currently in beta.
Without disagreement, Apple’s headset is far better than the current alternatives being marketed quality-wise. The device has an ultra-high-resolution display system that packs 23 million pixels per eye and is overall impressive. However, the pricing factor is not inviting even compared to Apple’s other products. One of the reasons early Vision Pro users are returning their headsets is that they never intended to keep them.
Apple started working on Vision Pro a decade ago and has delivered a stunning product. The slight horrors persist, but let’s keep in mind this is the first version of the headset. As of now, the important point for Apple is not the return rate but producing a better and cheaper version. The future updates will hopefully meet the promised criteria and resolve issues as Apple meticulously takes note of the returns.
