New Apple Vision Pro headset released, bringing some very welcome improvements, and the same old problems

A new Apple Vision Pro headset has just been announced, with a better processor and a much more comfortable head strap. With the new chip, the Vision Pro is now able to provide an even more premium experience, while also improving on a few other aspects.

However, the same problems that plagued the first Apple Vision Pro are still present and correct for the new headset. In short, this headset is merely a way for Apple to stay relevant in the XR (Extended Reality) market while it works on something much more important.

M5 chip takes Vision Pro to new heights

With Apple’s latest and greatest M5 chipset, the Vision Pro has become a lot more capable. Most importantly of all, the headset can now put out up to three hours of battery life before needing to be plugged in, a 30-minute increase over the previous model.

The new Vision Pro can also render “10 percent more pixels” according to the company, which means that the user gets to enjoy even sharper visuals on a headset that already had excellent displays. Despite previous reports to the contrary, there is no in-house R2 chip reading the headset’s inputs: it retains the R1 chip from the previous model.

Naturally, due to the M5 chip replacing the M2 chip, the Vision Pro will perform a lot smoother now. With the upgraded graphical processing power, a lot more detail can be added to virtual environments as well as VR games.

Dual Knit Band addresses the biggest complaint

One of, if not the biggest complaint after the pricing, was the Vision Pro’s comfort, or lack thereof. It got so bad that Apple began using better head straps for demo units in stores, just so that customers wouldn’t be turned off by the uncomfortable experience of using the Vision Pro.

With the new M5 Vision Pro, Apple will ship a Dual Knit Band, which looks a lot better just from the images, and will certainly be a lot more comfortable to use. Due to the added support — in addition to more evenly distributed weight — you should be able to use the Vision Pro for longer periods of time now, without straining your neck as much.

Unfortunately, the new strap still needs to be purchased separately.

Is the Vision Pro worth getting now?

Now that it’s even more powerful, has better visuals, is a lot more comfortable, and lasts slightly longer during everyday use, is the new Vision Pro worth getting? The answer depends on whether you still believe that Apple will continue supporting the headset.

Apple has cancelled the Vision Pro, which sounds wrong, given that this new Vision Pro was just announced today. Thing is, this isn’t really a Vision Pro 2. The processor upgrade and better strap are just expected improvements for a refresh, because that’s all this is: a placeholder.

Apple has cancelled further development of more affordable Vision headsets, opting instead to try to beat Meta to the market with a consumer-grade pair of AR smart glasses. The company, just like Meta, thinks that glasses might be the future of the smartphone. This new Vision Pro is just here to keep people thinking that Apple is also a player in the XR industry.

As mentioned above, this Vision Pro still has the same problems as its predecessor. It still costs $3,499, it’s still receiving content at a glacial pace, and there’s still a severe drought of things to do, though the newly added support for PSVR2 controllers should help soon.

Is this Vision Pro worth getting? I don’t know. Have you been wanting to get a Vision Pro just to see what it’s all about? If yes, then go for it. Otherwise, I’d still advise sticking with the Meta Quest 3, which is a lot more affordable.

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