Apple Vision Pro has a fatal flaw but Apple can fix it but given its corporate culture, it probably won’t.
Vision Pro is being released to the public this Friday on February 2. Meanwhile, hands-on impressions are being posted by prominent YouTubers such as Marques Brownlee. Marques found that Vision Pro’s best use was as a virtual monitor for Macbooks.
The problem is that most people who’ve tried Vision Pro say it’s too heavy to wear for over 30 minutes (iJustine said she can wear it for 45 minutes). It’s actually not the weight per se that’s the problem. It’s the fact that the Vision Pro is front-heavy, with almost all of its weight concentrated on the visor.
Being front-heavy means that you have to strain your neck muscles to lift your head at least slightly. For a minute or two, it’s not a problem. But after a prolonged period, it will become increasingly painful. I know this because I’ve tried other VR headsets with a similar problem, such as the original Oculus Quest.
If you can’t use it for more than about 30 minutes, then it simply wouldn’t be practical as a virtual monitor.
Fortunately, this problem can be fixed. The solution is to add a counterweight. Although the overall weight of the headset will increase, it will be more comfortable. For example, a full face motorcycle helmet weighs around 1.5 kg or more, substantially more than the 650 gram weight of the Vision Pro. Yet motorcycle riders can ride for extended periods because a helmet is balanced. In the Vision Pro’s case, Apple should simply use its external battery pack as a counterweight instead of having the user put it in a pocket.
Although this is the simplest solution to Vision Pro’s fatal flaw, I doubt that Apple will allow this change for one reason: pride. To make this change would be a tacit admission that its design was significantly flawed. But Apple is too proud and stubborn to do that. Instead, they would rather pretend that its product is perfect and ‘magical’ exactly as it was designed.
Third party accessory ? 🙂
About the “flaw”, there’s “business opportunity” angle too, like:
Another few hundred bucks for an accessory to balance the gadget in your head…
Quick, let’s design such accessory (lol 🙂
Happy “Spatial” viewing – Cheers!
That’s my biggest concern about it. Hopefully, someone will offer solutions so it’s not fatal.
A make shift solution might be to use the dual loop headband and hang the battery pack from a small hook on the back of the headband.
I was wondering about that but the headband seems too soft to support the battery pack. And I think the battery pack might not be enough to offset the weight of the visor.
Someone reported on Facebook that it worked for them. See post at link below:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1692265674578109/posts/1833635303774478/
I imagine a third party is working on a new head strap right now.
Possibly but I wonder if the market is big enough.
“I find your lack of faith disturbing” – Darth Vader
Velcro?
I think if you velcro the battery, the strap wouldn’t be able to support its weight and will droop down with the slightest head movement.
Roger that. May be 3rd party opportunity to introduce far better accessory.