I got my Vision Pro last Friday like everyone else and it is too early for a full review but I wanted to share the 3 things that stand out.
1. Remarkable Display Quality: Truly, I'm blown away by the AVP's display quality. The visuals are stunning with zero screen door effect. I've use a lot of headsets before but this is a generational leap forward and the renderings are incredibly lifelike. Combined with top-notch tracking technology, this device offers an unparalleled level of immersion - which says a lot because all the software currently available isn't even aiming for that, yet.
2. Effortless Eye Tracking: The device's eye tracking functionality is seamless and intuitive. I was skeptical that the Eye & Hand Tracking could do all the heavy lifting and the operating system would be usable without controllers but they nailed it. It isn't absolutely perfect but I acclimated quickly and was much faster typing than on any controller-based HMD. It's also the best dictation I've experienced, on an Apple device or otherwise – I haven't had a misunderstanding yet. I did notice that I can get miss-pinches or false positives if I'm moving a lot[1] but overall, my experience has been very satisfying so far.
3. Pass-Through Limitations: Don't get me wrong, it's really impressive and is the best I've encountered... But, there's room for improvement to say the least. Being able to seamlessly stitch multiple camera feeds and reproject them so the user sees exactly what they would see in under a frame is an amazingly difficult engineering problem and kudos to the teams that worked this out. However, the quality of the feeds is highly dependent on good lighting. If the available light is lacking, the quality of the pass-through feeds takes a nose dive and gets grainy. They're totally still usable and do the job, but the lack of quality of the real world compared with how magical the stuff the displays are rendering in your space definitely took a while for my brain to resolve. It makes me excited for the next iteration or ultimately when we have true pass-through.
All in all, the Vision Pro is a technological marvel and is pushing the boundaries. People have already started to compare it to the entrace of the iPhone and it does feel like a watershed moment. There's something magical here that I haven't experienced with another device before, let alone another headmounted display...
[1]: I'd just put my 15 month old son down for bed and wanted to watch his camera feed to make sure he stayed down, do an ellipitical workout, and do my duolingo daily lessons. I've been in this position before but this time I didn't have to compromise! ↩