This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
Just a couple of days ago, on February 2nd, 2025, we marked the one year anniversary since the launch of the Apple Vision Pro, a product so long and hotly anticipated that many hoped it would replace our smartphones and become the next big breakthrough in computing.
It... didn't turn out quite this way.
One year after the launch, one thing is clear — Apple's Vision Pro strategy was a failure. But why?
Apple Vision Pro: The real verdict
Do people love using it or not? That's the only thing that matters ultimately
Contemplating the meaning of life in a $3,500 headset (Image by PhoneArena)
For me, the real verdict for a new product category that is supposed to change the world (such as the Apple Vision Pro) is not about how many units it sells or whether it revolutionizes a certain item on a specs list. It's about... the usage. This is the ultimate factor: do people actually use this new device? Does it improve their lives in a meaningful way?
One year since the launch of the Apple Vision Pro, I have a very clear answer to this question. We have one Apple Vision Pro lying around in the office for anyone to pick up and use. It's free and there is no line — if you want one, you just go and take it home, set it up and... just enjoy using it. This sounds like a great deal: just go ahead and take a revolutionary $3,500 gadget home and use it.
Here is the cruel verdict, though: in the last six months, no one has even asked about it, let alone try to use it!
Nobody wants this thing... and it's free!
It's been gathering dust and I actually had to charge it to freshen up my mind about it for this article.
Now, I am not saying that nobody in the world wants it. I have actually used the Vision Pro for a couple of weeks myself and I appreciate the technology inside it. It's clear to me that this device might be a game-changer for so many specialized use cases, and we have heard reports of Vision Pros being used in surgery rooms (now that sounds cool).
I was also curious to see how our YouTube audience felt about the Vision Pro:
Yikes! People have promptly forgotten the Vision Pro even exists
I guess the results speak for themselves.
Apple Vision Pro: The wrong strategy
Before trying to look back and see if the gadget itself was good enough, we have to talk about Apple's strategy with the Vision Pro.
Launching a prohibitively expensive $3,500 gadget with a 2-hour battery life and thinking that general users will adopt it in the millions was... wrong, misguided and maybe crazy.
Sure, your other options are not quite as advanced, but you can get a Meta Quest 3S at — literally — a tenth of the price of the Vision Pro!
Headset
Price
Apple Vision Pro
$3,500
Meta Quest 3
$500
Meta Quest 3S
$300
Pico 4 Ultra
$700
And now, after this initial false start, it will be much harder for Apple to rekindle the hype and enthusiasm when eventually it gets the price and the design right.
It's also telling that you can now easily find a Vision Pro on eBay for just $2,500 — losing $1,000 worth of value in a year is pretty bad.
Apple Vision Pro: The wrong design
There is one big problem with the Vision Pro design: it is freaking heavy!
In fact, it is the only mixed reality headset out there made of aluminum.
This doesn't make much sense from a practical standpoint, as aluminum is heavy. The only justification for an aluminum body on a pair of mixed reality glasses is... Apple marketing! While other companies have been aggressively cutting the weight of their headsets, the Vision Pro chose to look different while sacrificing comfort.
Apple Vision Pro weight comparison:
Headset
Weight
Apple Vision Pro
650 g
Meta Quest 3
515 g (26% lighter)
Meta Quest 3S
515 g (26% lighter)
Pico 4 Ultra
355 g (83% lighter)
Apple Vision Pro: The software... it is actually really good!
But where are the games?
While we are critical of Apple's pricing strategy and design choices, we have to give it to the company when it comes to software updates.
The Vision OS 1 software seemed a bit rough at first and we can still remember how everyone in the media had a laugh at the creepy first versions of the "Personas".
But the company addressed that issue with haste and improved the looks of Personas.
Vision OS software update history:
Visions OS 1.0 — First inaugural version. This is the software you got if you purchases a Vision Pro on its launch date on February 2nd, 2024.
Visions OS 1.1 (Mar, 2024) — New and improved Spatial Personas.
Visions OS 1.2 (June, 2024) — Performance and stability improvements.
Visions OS 1.3 (July, 2024) — Bug fixes.
Visions OS 2.0 (Sept, 2024) — New hand gestures, Spatial photos, new 3D environments in Photos app, more natural Personas, Travel mode for train
Visions OS 2.1 (Oct, 2024) — Bug fixes and security updates.
Visions OS 2.2 (Dec, 2024) — Mac Virtual Display has a larger ultrawide screen (Apple claims it is equivalent to two 5K displays side-by-side). Tap to view spatial photos and videos embedded on web pages.
Visions OS 2.3 (Jan, 2025) — Bug fixes and security updates.
Apple is definitely doing an excellent job polishing the Vision OS software and the addition of a larger ultra-wide Mac Virtual Display has transformed the Vision Pro into a much more capable productivity machine.
While Apple has not had much success with the hardware, the Vision OS software is now a very solid foundation for future cheaper headsets that might actually make a dent in the industry.
And while we have great news for the Vision Pro as a productivity tool and for its ease of use, the content part is still largely missing.
There are no games or exclusive programming that would make full use of the possibilities of virtual / mixed reality. You might have seen those videos promising us that we would be able to watch NBA games with a live view of the field below the screen and other crazy visuals, but none of that has actually happened. Turns out, creating content for virtual reality like that is hard and very expensive.
It's also very strange that Apple has not embraced gaming in a meaningful way, considering that a big chunk of VR users are gamers.
Those are the two areas I want to see improve drastically in the future.
Final Words
The Apple Vision Pro is one of a few recent mis-steps for Apple. After the canceled Apple Car project, the Vision Pro lackluster sales were surely not what Tim Cook hoped for.
Still, I am excited about mixed reality glasses and some of the experiences I had with the Vision Pro were very impressive. But Apple must go back to the drawing board before launching the Vision Pro 2. It might not have many other shots at getting this right.
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Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.
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