It’s been a long wait for tech fans in the UK but you can now finally pre-order Apple’s latest new gadget, the Apple Vision Pro. First announced in June 2023, the device is a mixed reality headset – which means it can display both fully immersive virtual reality and also augmented reality, which layers digital elements over a view of the real world.
Apple refers to the Vision Pro as a “spatial computer” and pitches it as a device for doing several things on, including watching films and TV shows, making FaceTime video calls, or doing work with several large floating windows open.
The advantage of watching content on the Vision Pro is the action feels large enough in front of you to appear like a cinema screen, while photos viewed from your iPhone can feel a lot more immersive – and videos taken on the latest iPhone 15 Pro can be viewed in a new ‘spatial video’ format on the Vision Pro to give them a sense of three dimensions.
When wearing the Vision Pro, you can impressively select app icons using your eyes as the headset can track exactly where you’re looking, while you use your hands to flick and pinch to select other elements of the user interface. You can even connect the device to your Mac or MacBook computer and pull up your work apps to create a large virtual office in front of you.
Express.co.uk’s technology editor Dave Snelling has used the Vision Pro on two separate occasions and has been impressed, despite the fact it’ll set you back a stunning £3,499.
“There’s no doubt that it is a seriously impressive piece of tech that’s surprisingly intuitive to use,” Snelling said. “Within seconds of wearing it, I managed to master the neat Minority Report-style hand gestures that control what was being shown on ultra-high-resolution screens which use micro-OLED technology to pack 23 million pixels into two displays, each the size of a postage stamp.”
“My demo lasted for around 30 minutes and I honestly didn’t want it to stop. The intuitive user interface, mixed reality visuals, familiar suite of apps and magical sound make this a truly game-changing gadget.
“Yes, when it launches in the UK next month, it will cost almost £3,500 and this is a first-gen device which means future versions are likely to be far slimmer, faster and last much longer than that two-hour battery pack can currently muster. It does look a little like a pair of ski goggles, it’s pretty heavy and we didn’t have it on long enough to find out how comfy all-day usage would be.”
The two hour battery life seems like a setback, but you can also use the Vision Pro for as long as you like if you have it plugged into power.
Also because the Vision Pro is a completely new kind of computer, there aren’t many killer apps yet designed for it. You can run normal iPhone and iPad apps via the device … but if that’s all you want to do then you might not need it in the first place.
If you want to see what all the fuss is about – and can afford the high asking price – you can pre-order the Vision Pro now directly from Apple. As this is a headset, you can either go into an Apple Store for a fitting, or use your iPhone or iPad with Face ID to scan a QR code when you go to buy from Apple’s website. This will use the Face ID function of your device to help you buy the correct size Vision Pro strap.
