Report notes that excitement over Vision Pro purchases soon turned to regret
Several Vision Pro buyers spent $3,500 to purchase "regrets."
As we pointed out the other day, when the Apple Vision Pro spatial computer made an appearance on The Price is Right, no one came close to guessing the actual $3,499 retail price of the mixed-reality headset. The winner of the device had to come the closest to the actual price without going over, and she had priced the Vision Pro at $1,270.
Apple should have been more through when introducing the Vision Pro to the public
It's possible that Apple did not do a good job promoting all of the Vision Pro's capabilities to the general public. It also indicates that, unlike the iPhone, the iPad, and the Apple Watch, a product as complex as the Vision Pro needs a great deal of explanation to capture the attention of those who don't follow tech.
On its release day, Apple promotes the Vision Pro at its Fifth Avenue store in New York City. | Image credit-Apple
There's more to this story, however. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this past week that many Vision Pro buyers, having shelled out $3,499 and up for the model with 256GB of storage, $3,699 for 512GB of storage, and $3,899 for the unit with 1TB of storage, now realize that they have major regrets about the purchase. One Vision Pro owner cited by the Journal, Dustin Fox, said, "It’s just collecting dust. I think I’ve probably used it four times in the last year."
Like several other Vision Pro buyers, Fox has put his headset away where it sits alongside other gadgets he bought and doesn't use. Yet, when Apple released the product in February 2024, he said that he had to buy it. "I’m like a little boy when something new comes out," he admitted. As a realtor, he thought that the Vision Pro might help him with work. But that dream ended as soon as he donned the headset for the first time. The headset was just too heavy for Fox to wear for more than 20 to 30 minutes without it hurting his neck.
Another disillusioned Vision Pro buyer, Tovia Goldstein, was looking forward to watching television shows and movies using the device, but said that after 60 minutes, he had to put it down. It's been four months since he last used the headset. Besides the weight of the device, Goldstein feels that there aren't enough apps available for the Vision Pro to make using it worthwhile.
Every so often, he thinks about turning on the spatial computer to see if new apps have been added. However, the combination of the neck pain he experiences while using it and the three minutes it takes to plug in the battery stops him from trying again. Goldstein's recommendation? "I wouldn’t recommend anyone buying it unless you’re really rich and you don’t know what to do with your money."
The day the Vision Pro was released was filled with excitement. Apple CEO Tim Cook visited some Apple Stores in New York City, including the flagship store on Fifth Avenue. But the excitement went away, leaving many Vision Pro buyers feeling like Fox who told the Journal, "I feel total regret."
Why buy the Vision Pro and ditch it when someone makes fun of you for wearing it?
Anshel Sag is another Vision Pro buyer, and he used to take his headset on flights to watch movies. Getting dirty looks from other passengers wasn't the whole problem. The size of the $199 Vision Pro case, an optional accessory, was the biggest issue, he said.
If there were an award for the most ridiculous excuse for not using a purchased Vision Pro, it might belong to Anthony Racaniello, who said that during a six-hour flight to Las Vegas, the flight attendants kept rolling the drink cart past him because they assumed he was wearing a sleep mask. Racaniello also said that when he brought the Vision Pro to work to help him send emails or compile spreadsheets at the media studio he works at, colleagues told him to take it off because he looked creepy or they made fun of him.
Frankly, if I were lucky enough to have the discretionary income that allows me to purchase a Vision Pro, and the device helped me do my work, I'd keep it on no matter what anyone else said.
Apple is reportedly working on a second-generation Vision Pro using a new M5 chip. While some components will be reused thanks to the surplus Apple has in inventory, we could see changes to the weight of the new model making it lighter thus allowing users to wear it comfortably for longer sessions.
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