OPINION: I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE WITH APPLE VISION PRO, AND IT SUCKS.

Color me a virtual-reality optimist. Alongside writing for iPhone Life, I’m a video game developer, 3D artist, and sci-fi author. I own a Meta Quest 3 and use it all the time to play games and view 3D models as I work.

- CULLEN THOMAS

My first experience of VR on a Valve Index is a cherished memory—it was so much fun to explore video game environments as if actually visiting them! When Apple announced its premium augmented reality headset, the Vision Pro, I was about as excited as anybody could be. That is, until I tried it.

SOME QUICK DEFINITIONS FOR THE UNINITIATED

Virtual reality (VR) refers to immersive worlds portrayed using headsets that have one screen for each of your eyes, so you can see in 3D. When you put on a VR headset, the world around you disappears and you’re plunged into an environment that’s created using video game technology.

Augmented Reality (AR) is an improvement on VR technology that uses cameras on the outside of the device to capture your actual environment and show it to you on the screens displaying the virtual content, an effect called passthrough. This is super helpful for things like finding your drink on the counter and not bumping into chairs, but it also paves the way for experiences that blend the real with the virtual. Apple has bet big on that idea with the Vision Pro.

VISION PRO VS META QUEST 3

The Vision Pro is essentially a Mac packed into thick ski goggles, equipped with advanced camera systems, hand tracking, eye tracking, face tracking, and dazzling high-resolution screens for each eye. It promises what Apple calls spatial computing, that is, the experience of computer content that is not trapped inside a monitor, but instead experienced in the space around you.