The Apple Vision Pro has now been available for two weeks — and some of Apple’s most dedicated customers are returning the device to get back their $3,500.

The Apple Vision Pro has now been available for two weeks — and some of Apple’s most dedicated customers are returning the device to get back their $3,500. Also: Apple’s longest-serving product designer retires, and the company is making headway on its generative AI push.

Apple Inc. is probably at least 18 months away from launching a second-generation Vision Pro. Based on the early response to the first version, that may be a long time for some people to wait.

Since the Vision Pro debuted on Feb. 2, it’s become clear that the mixed-reality headset is still a work in progress. Despite the dazzling demos — and generally positive reviews — it can be challenging to use on a daily basis.

It’s heavy. The interface doesn’t always work smoothly. And it’s hard to forget the fact that you paid $3,500 or more for this experience.

Vision Pro loyalists stress that the current model is only the first generation. It will get better in time. Don’t forget, they say, that the original iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch had their quirks too. If the headset feels too heavy, you’re wearing it wrong. The narrower-than-expected field of view and glare? That’s normal.

Now, it’s true that Apple’s earlier first-generation products had their issues. The initial iPhone couldn’t connect to 3G networks and lacked the App Store or even the ability to cut and paste. The iPad didn’t have multitasking. The original Apple Watch was too sluggish and wasn’t waterproof.

But I don’t think anyone complained that those devices were too cumbersome, an actual pain to use or too expensive to justify keeping.

With the Vision Pro, even some of the most loyal Apple customers have had second thoughts. By this past Friday — when the two-week return period expired for the very first Vision Pro purchases — a surprising number had turned in their headsets.

Returns are normal, and happen for all sorts of reasons. But the Vision Pro is unique. If you’ve already bought one, chances are you’re a diehard Apple fan or an early adopter of new technology. That group, one would assume, is far less likely than the normal iPhone or iPad buyer to send something back.

Apple isn’t commenting on the Vision Pro’s return rate, but data from sources at retail stores suggests that it’s likely somewhere between average and above average compared with other products — depending on the location. Some smaller stores are seeing one or two returns per day, but larger locations have seen as many as over eight take-backs in a single day.

Obviously, these aren’t large numbers, and there are stores that have had days with just one or zero returns. This stems partly from the fact that the Vision Pro is a low-volume product — something Apple expected from the start. And none of this is a sign of a crisis.

But Apple does seem interested in figuring out what’s going on. When customers return the Vision Pros, retail staffers quiz them on what went wrong. Employees have also been instructed to report to a manager after each return so that any concerns can be passed back to headquarters in Cupertino, California.

In speaking to more than a dozen people who have returned the Vision Pro over the past week, I’ve heard some similar reasons:

* The device is simply too heavy, too cumbersome to manage, headache-inducing and uncomfortable.
* The current lack of applications and video content doesn’t justify the price.
* The work features don’t make people more productive than just using an normal external monitor with a Mac — and they’re difficult to use for long periods.
* The displays have too much glare, the field of view is too narrow, and the device causes eyestrain and vision problems.
* The product can make users feel isolated from family and friends. Meaningful shared experiences don’t yet exist, and the Vision Pro can’t easily be passed around to others because of the need for a precise fit.

The people I spoke to were either longtime Apple and technology fans (who previously bought new iPhones, iPads and Macs as soon as they launched) or they were blown away by the demo at an Apple retail store. As I wrote last week, those demonstrations are designed to wow users with a carefully curated set of experiences.

Based on what I’ve seen so far, the demos have been effective — maybe too effective. They sell consumers on an experience that doesn’t quite exist yet. Some stores are seeing conversion rates after demos as high as 10% to 15%. That’s an impressive number for a product with the Vision Pro’s price tag.

Chucky Blalock, who runs amusement businesses in Florida, said he bought the device for entertainment at home, but also hoped it would help him run his company. He found the technology and screens “unbelievable” but ultimately felt like the Vision Pro made him too disconnected from the world.

“I feel it is so important to be in the moment and the device doesn’t allow you to be,” he said.

Others pointed to the lack of a killer app for the Vision Pro.

“You kind of find yourself in this virtual environment and you’re asking yourself what you’re doing here,” said Randy Chia, a product manager for an investment firm in Los Angeles. He returned the device after finding his face would get sweaty after use. It also made him feel exhausted, and he bemoaned the buggy software.

Chia bought the first-generation MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, but felt that the Vision Pro was “a bridge too far,” he said. He called it the buggiest first-generation product he’s ever used. The “wow factor” doesn’t make up for the fact that “I’m wearing this big thing on my head,” Chia said.

Binyamin Goldman, who runs BZG Apps and is a self-professed Apple fanboy, says he bought the device to investigate if he should build apps for it. He soon found that it was too heavy and that the video passthrough — the feature that shows the real-world around you — felt like he was looking through a 720-pixel camera.

“The biggest drawback is the glare of the very bright objects in very dark environments,” Goldman said, referring to the landscapes that serve as Vision Pro backdrops.

He says he wishes he didn’t need to return it, but had to after finding it wasn’t usable for the tasks Apple was promoting it for. “It would be terribly difficult to watch a movie for three hours, you can’t work at all on it, and it is restricting to be limited to one Mac display at a time,” he said. Still, he plans to give the product another go with the second version.

Westin Flower, who runs an online retail business, bought the device because he felt that being able to spread out many app windows would be a superpower for running his company. But the multitasking on the Vision Pro is more limited than he expected, and he struggled with eyestrain. “I don’t want to make compromises for $3,500,” he said.

Jesse Dacri, a freelance cinematographer in California, seconded the concerns about eyestrain. “The thing is too damn heavy and everyone knows it, and I am used to wearing these things,” said Dacri, who also owns a Quest headset from Meta Platforms Inc.

As a test, he hooked up his Quest to his Mac and used it for two hours. He didn’t have the eyestrain like he did with the Vision Pro. “That was it for me,” he said.

Narinder Walia, an economic consultant in Los Angeles, said he was blown away by the video quality. “First off, I loved it. It was bananas.” He said he watched two movies on the device and doesn’t believe there’s another video experience that can compare. But he didn’t use it for much else. “If the price had been $1,500 to $2,000, I would have kept it just to watch movies, but at essentially four grand, I’ll wait for version two.”

Farzad Mesbahi, a former Tesla Inc. supply chain manager in Texas, was likewise impressed with the device before ultimately returning it. He notes that Apple “made a headset that doesn’t make you dizzy” and combines both its hardware and software expertise. But he didn’t find it worth the price of admission.

“It clearly is the future — but there’s not enough stuff for it to do right now,” Mesbahi said. “The apps just aren’t there.” He found it was comfortable enough, “but after a couple hours, it’s still something on your face.”

David Altizer, who designs YouTube thumbnails out of Nashville, was hoping to use the Vision Pro as an external monitor while traveling but found it too uncomfortable and didn’t fit with the way he worked. “I live in Photoshop all day, so I don’t need a crazy-fast computer but I do need a color-accurate display,” he said. “The whole experience felt really slow and not that sharp.”

Parker Ortolani, a product manager at Vox Media, had perhaps the most disappointing experience of all.

He said the device didn’t fit him, was too heavy and that the straps didn’t alleviate that weight.

“No matter how many different ways I tried to adjust either strap, it didn’t work for any extended period of time,” he said. “I went to the store and even worked with a specialist who trained in Cupertino. I ultimately thought we got somewhere, but it just didn’t work.”

Beyond the discomfort, Ortolani said the Vision Pro led to medical concerns. He suffered eyestrain and woke up with a “big red spot” on his eye that he said was a popped blood vessel. He attributed the problem — along with the “worst” headache he’s ever had — to the headset. “That was one of those moments where I was like, ‘Oh crap, this is not worth the trouble.’”

Even after all that, Ortolani, a massive Apple fan, says he didn’t want to part ways with the product. “I didn’t want to return it but I had to,” he said.

He likens the device to a prototype for developers to write apps — rather than a product for consumers.

Of course, I’ve also heard from plenty of people who love their Vision Pros and wouldn’t part with them. In fact, here’s a twist: I wrote this entire column on my Vision Pro. And I’m keeping it..

Source : Bloomberg