All My Thoughts After 40 Hours in the Vision Pro

Tim Urban spent over 40 hours using the Apple Vision Pro to evaluate hardware, OS, and applications. He calls the device a V1 platform: impressive but imperfect. On hardware, Vision Pro is relatively heavy (~650 g), uses an external battery (~3 hours), performs seamless iris scans, and delivers convincing pass‑through video using foveated rendering to show only the gaze target in full resolution. The outward eye display is still limited, and the headset’s field of view has noticeable black borders.

On software, VisionOS’s eye‑tracking and the “eye‑pinch” selection model are breakthrough interaction primitives that let the user place persistent, large virtual windows around physical space—transforming standard workflows (e.g., working on a 100‑inch virtual monitor on a couch). The current app ecosystem is narrow: standout demos include immersive entertainment, 3D panos, and FaceTime avatars (which currently trigger an uncanny‑valley effect). Urban positions the Vision Pro as a seed for a future S‑curve of XR innovation, noting price ($3,500) and limited content as short‑term barriers.