While the people at Meta have been working on virtual reality glasses for many years, as has HTC, Tim Cook’s company wanted to develop headsets that combine virtual reality with augmented reality, featuring highly innovative controls. Undoubtedly, they look fantastic.
And if these glasses seem incredible, it’s time to tell you that Apple is expected to make changes in the next version of Vision Pro, focusing on reducing the size and weight of the headphones. In other words, making them even better.
This is how Apple’s Vision Pro 2 will be
In the latest Power On newsletter by Mark Gurman (for Bloomberg), the well-known Apple leaker informs us that the company is considering significant improvements for the next generation of Vision Pro concerning comfort.
Gurman points out that, given that some testers have expressed concerns about neck strain due to the weight of the headphones, Apple aims to make the next generation lighter and more compact.
This could be a crucial point for the next version of Vision Pro, as Apple is concerned that the weight of the initial device “could discourage consumers already wary of mixed-reality headsets,” Gurman states. According to him, Apple Vision Pro might be too heavy for some individuals, even during short periods of use.
Reducing the weight of the next generation of Vision Pro seems to be the priority, and any size reduction is likely to be much less noticeable (and harder to achieve).
As noted by 9 to 5 Mac, which discovered this information, Apple has already made the first-generation headphones more compact, but with a drawback. Specifically, the design doesn’t leave room for people who wear prescription glasses to comfortably fit them.
Prescription lenses, as if they were glasses
Apple’s solution involves implementing a system of prescription lenses that magnetically attach to the 4K screens of the glasses.
But it’s not ideal for many reasons. It’s a headache for retailers to store the vast number of prescription lenses they will have to handle. It seems quite complicated.
Another obvious drawback is that the user’s prescription might change in the future, so, again, there’s the hassle of getting new lenses for the Vision Pro.
It appears that Apple is considering the idea of supplying customized headphones directly with the correct prescription lenses pre-installed, but that could also pose problems.
It remains to be seen whether all these thorny issues related to glasses can be resolved with the Vision Pro 2.
Long-term success vision?
It seems that the weight of the Vision Pro might be a problem, according to the initial comments. Although many of the journalists who have tested them haven’t complained, so we’ll see what users say in a couple of years.
This can vary from person to person, it’s true, but it appears that if Apple is planning to make the next generation headphones lighter, the company is acknowledging that things in this department are less than ideal.
In any case, while it’s good to hear this, we’ll only truly know how the Vision Pro performs in terms of comfort when the time for a full review comes.
For us, however, the most uncomfortable part of the Vision Pro experience is the price. Just looking at the price tag makes our hearts sink because we will never be able to afford it.
At around $3,499, the Vision Pro is too expensive for 99% of the population. We don’t believe that price will convince consumers when Apple’s glasses hit the market next year in the United States (in theory, early 2024).
Especially considering that mixed reality and VR headsets, in general, are already a niche market. In fact, the Meta Quest 3 is much more affordable in comparison and seems to be very promising glasses.
