Buyers of the Apple Vision Pro choose to part with their headset

We’ve seen it on the street, in the car, at the gym or recently on the head of an airplane pilot… With social networks buzzing, the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset has sold out of its initial stock. An hour in the United States, despite its high price of $3,500. The first copies were distributed on February 2 in this country alone.

The first American buyers will reach the regulatory 14 days on Friday to return the product free of charge. And more and more of them are saying on social networks that they have decided to part with their helmets, because “too expensive” for its value or “discomfort”, As reported by Cult of Mac’s exclusive media.

“Headache and nausea”

Vision Pro allows you to immerse yourself in a virtual universe and see through the screen. Thus, it promises to simplify daily tasks or increase productivity at work. As soon as it went on sale, the headset worked with about a million iPhone and iPad applications, and 600 were specially designed for it. Among these, many Office applications, such as Microsoft 365.

A few days after its release, initial feedback from users has been mixed. Headaches, feelings of nausea, visual discomfort or the weight of the device weighing on the face… first of all customers criticize it for the lack of comfort. These criticisms are being repeated for VR/AR headsets. Designed for the mass market, such a tool is difficult to adapt to individual limitations.

“What a disappointment. It’s so uncomfortable to wear and it’s tiring on my eyes. This is clearly the future, it works like magic. But the physical constraints aren’t right for me.”notes Parker Ortolani, project manager for the media edge, on the threads. It also notes that there was a product return process “Easy, but I was asked a long list of questions, which had never happened before”.

It is not the technical design that is wrong. Devin Fountain, Website Designer, explains about: “It’s amazing as a virtual monitor in a place where you don’t have much of a screen. But every time I take it off, I’m reminded of how much sharper my MacBook’s screen is. Body fatigue? Not so much. Eye fatigue? Sure. .cheekbone pain? 1000% ». a The engineer notes that K “Experience did not convince him” Because the helmet was giving him a headache “When I was programming”.

Also readThe Vision Pro headset reignites the rivalry between Apple and the Meta

Wait for the next version

Mark Zuckerberg isn’t alone in thinking Apple’s headsets aren’t worth the price. The Meta founder posted a video on Instagram on Tuesday extolling the virtues of his group’s latest mixed reality headset, the Meta Quest 3. “Having used the Vision Pro, I feel Quest has the best value for money. I think Quest is the better product, period. Released last September, the latest version of Zuckerberg’s product starts at €549.99.

For the moment, it is impossible to know how these few returns, which are not yet quantifiable, will affect the development of Vision Pro. Many netizens who said they are returning the device also said they are eager to try the next version of the headset. Apple obviously has huge ambitions for its Vision Pro, the first new product range since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2014.