Apple Vision Pro M5

Background

Two years ago I got the Apple Vision Pro for my birthday. It felt like an iPhone type jump in technology, if you can remember what cell phones were like before January 2007. I wasn't sure what I might use it for, but I wanted it. And I made two trips to the Apple Store to do the demo and finally went for it. I had the lenses made and enjoyed it for a few weeks.

I'd even gotten a case for it. And I ultimately returned it. Apple followed up with a lengthy questionnaire about the return. As I remember, these were my chief complaints:

• It's really heavy and uncomfortable to wear for more than an hour.
• I tried watching a movie and the battery died before the movie was over.
• It doesn't appear to have a clear use case aside from watching shows and movies but the battery seems weak for making this a reality.

Some complained about having to wear the battery in your pocket. The reality is, you had to be tethered to the wall. I remember trying out the Mac Virtual Display in my office, sitting at my ProDisplay XDR and thinking this wasn't anything near as good as the real monitor.

So, I partially regretted it, but I returned it.

And today, I went back to the Apple Store to purchase the Apple Vision Pro M5.

Since the first model came out, some things have changed:

• Mac Virtual Display has gotten better.
• The M5 offers a better experience.
• The new headband makes wearing it more comfortable.
• The battery life supposedly got a little better, although they didn't upgrade its capacity.

I tried ordering the thing the night before, and it said it was ready for pickup at my local Apple Store the next day. Except ordering it was an issue.

1. You must use your iPhone to measure your face for the strap and air seal.
2. You must report your eyewear needs.
3. Then you pick the storage size.
4. Then you can buy.

Except I already own the lenses from the original purchase. And I even have a case!

You can't purchase it online if you need lenses and already own them. The issue is when you remove (or lie about needing lenses) the size of the light seal changes. There's no way to manually enter what size you'd like. It relies on the measurement from your phone.

So I made an appointment for the Apple Store for the test-drive.

Today's Experience

I arrived early for my appointment. I was asked to sit at the table with the in-store models. I sat. And sat. And ten minutes after my appointment time, a man came and asked me if I was there for the Apple Vision Pro. I explained that I didn't need to try it, that I was ready to buy it. That I had tried online, explaining the situation, and then I showed him the box of my Zeiss lenses. He said he'd be back.

When he returned he fidgeted on his store device for quite some time. When he spoke he was difficult to hear. Finally he said that he'd need my glasses.

He proceeds to walk over to the glasses measuring device and is literally hunched over, attempting to figure out what to do with my eyeglasses. I was not sure why this was necessary as I already had the correct Zeiss lenses in my pocket.

He fiddled and then got help with another employee. They brought out a big black box and turned the lens measuring machine over, and he still didn't seem to know what to do with my glasses, turning them every which way. Then he was back on his device, seemingly reading up on what to do or how to troubleshoot.

Then three things happened:

1. I alerted him that I'd been waiting now for thirty minutes and had other places to be.
2. He told me the eyeglass measuring machine was just spinning and not working, and that none of the things he needed to do to fit me had been charged.
3. Then he asked me "why do you want this thing?"

Let me just say I did not make the decision to re-purchase this "spatial computer" lightly. It's four grand. Do I think I'll use it every day? I am not sure. But I was intrigued enough and wanted to buy it.

What became clear to me is that Apple doesn't care about selling it. Despite making an appoitment for a "test run," they weren't ready. And despite announcing that I was ready to buy, I felt both the clown show with the lens measuring machine and the question before I left clearly didn't make me think this was the right choice.

In all my years of using and buying Apple equipment, I've only really had one lemon experience. It was with my liquid-cooled G5 tower. I'd hauled that thing back to the store multiple times. (I take it back, I also had to replace my ProDisplay XDR, which was under warranty). But since being an Apple user since 1984? I've had really good experiences with their equipment.

And this experience was ultimately disappointing. To be sure, I know the man assisting me was trying his best, but he was obviously ill-prepared to help me or to know how to work the equipment. Or the equipment was in need of repair. But why did we even need to use that machine?

Pull out the demo, ensure what size strap and light seal. I expected the transaction to take 30 minutes.

Unfortunately for Apple, they lost a four grand sale. I think I'll be going to BestBuy tomorrow and finally invest in a four grand OLED TV.

N.B. I do realize these are first-world problems, as they say, and I don't mean to make light of my ability to purchase a nice thing in an effort to boast. I simply wanted to share my experience for those who might also be on the fence about potentially investing in one of these devices. My experience may ultimately forecast Apple's plans for the platform.