Hands-on with Apple Vision Pro, which seems to be a genuine leapfrog in capability and execution of XR, offering near perfect eye tracking and gesture control
After a roughly 30 minute demo that ran through the major features that are yet ready to test I came away convinced that Apple …
TechCrunch Matthew Panzarino
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had just positioned Vision Pro as a $3,499-and-up “spatial computing” device due in early 2024, with eyes, hands and voice as its primary controls. This hands-on account supplies early evidence that the eye-and-hand control model Apple introduced works in practice, rather than only in a keynote setting.
The practical trade-off was already visible in subsequent coverage: reviewers continued to praise tracking while flagging frustrating text entry and headset comfort limits. That distinction matters because interaction quality can be a product differentiator without, by itself, ensuring broad daily use.
First-order effects
- Apple gains third-party validation for Vision Pro’s core input system, strengthening the case that its interface can support direct manipulation without conventional controllers.
- Prospective developers and buyers get an early signal that eye tracking and hand gestures—not merely display quality—are the headset’s defining product experience.
Second-order effects
- XR rivals are pressured to improve controller-free input accuracy and responsiveness, since awkward gaze or gesture interaction becomes more conspicuous against Apple’s reported performance.
- Developers face a clearer incentive to design interfaces around gaze selection and hand gestures, while retaining alternatives for tasks such as typing that later hands-on coverage found less polished.
Third-order effects
- If reliable natural input becomes a baseline expectation, XR competition may shift from hardware specifications toward the quality of perception systems and the software interactions built on top of them.
- The category’s adoption will still depend on whether strong interaction can overcome price, comfort and sustained-use constraints; the coverage indicates those are separate product challenges.
The trend: Vision Pro is an early example of XR moving toward perception-led interfaces, where eye and hand tracking replace dedicated controllers as the primary computing surface.
Related: Perception Infrastructure · Apple Vision Pro · Apple · Vision Pro launch and spatial-computing controls · Vision Pro review: tracking, typing and comfort
Related Coverage
- Apple Vision Pro Impressions! Marques Brownlee on YouTube
- View article The Verge
- I wore the Apple Vision Pro. It's the best headset demo ever. The Verge
- Apple Vision Pro: I Tried the New Mixed-Reality Headset Wall Street Journal
- Apple Vision Pro hands-on: A new milestone for mixed reality, but issues remain Engadget
- View article New York Times
- View article MacRumors
- View article New York Times
- View article 9to5Mac
- Hands On With Apple's Vision Pro: The Opposite of Disappearing Wired
- What's Clear and Blurry About Apple's Vision Pro Headset The Information
- View article Insider
- View article Cryptopolitan
- Hands on with Apple's Vision Pro: bringing the metaverse to life Financial Times
- View article BGR
- View article CryptoGlobe
- TechScape: Is Apple's $3,500 Vision Pro more than just another tech toy for the rich? The Guardian
- View article CNBC
- Apple Vision Pro first look The Verge on YouTube
- View article iThinkDifferent
- View article Vox
- In defense of the Apple Vision Pro battery pack (with one major concession) iMore
- View article Forbes
- Apple Vision Pro: I Tried the New Mixed-Reality Headset Wall Street Journal
- Hands-on: Apple Vision Pro isn't for Gaming, But it Does Everything Else Better Road to VR
- Apple will face an uphill battle convincing developers to build apps for its headset MIT Technology Review
- Apple's Vision Pro Hands-On: This Is the VR Headset I'd Use to Watch 3D ‘Avatar’ CNET
- The Apple Vision Pro Is Nothing More Than Repackaged VR Hype Forbes
- Apple's entry into VR is a ‘watershed moment,’ say top industry execs NBC News
- Vision Pro, Apple's new augmented reality headset, explained The i Paper
- Apple's Vision Pro rips off the HoloLens, seven years later PCWorld
- The Morning After: Apple reveals its mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro Engadget
- Hands on: Apple Vision Pro: I just wore the future TechRadar
- Marques Brownlee reality-checks Apple Vision Pro hype: “Not a product for the masses” Dexerto
- 17 New Features Coming to iOS 17 This Fall Wall Street Journal
- Everywhere Apple imagines you'll use its $3,499 headset The Verge
- I thought I would hate Apple's VR headset, but I was wrong Digital Trends
- Apple Vision Pro looks amazing. What and who is it for? The New Consumer
- Apple Vision Pro is like magic, and other things people said after the first hands-on previews BGR
- Don't call it a headset: Apple Vision Pro is a ‘spatial computer’ Music Ally
- Apple Vision Pro is incredibly expensive, but not for the reason you think Mashable
Discussion
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@mkbhd
Marques Brownlee
on x
Just spent 30 minutes in the Apple Vision Pro headset. Y'all. I am. VERY impressed with a few specific things. Definitely stay tuned
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@levie
Aaron Levie
on x
Just got to try Apple Vision. Definitely wild. Hand and eye tracking is basically perfect, instantly understandable UX, the graphics are incredible, and the setup was seconds. For a first edition product this is a very good starting place.
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@carlquintanilla
Carl Quintanilla
on x
“.. the closest thing I've seen to magic.” @MKBHD $AAPL #VisionPro https://www.youtube.com/...
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@jimpethokoukis
James Pethokoukis
on x
“At the end of the demo, I took off the headset and felt two things: 1) Wow. Very cool. 2) Did I just do drugs?” https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
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@turnernovak
Turner Novak
on x
Tim Apple after convincing 82% of Americans to spend five paychecks on a pair of ski goggles [video]
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@lmsacasas
@lmsacasas
on x
You know what I think about a lot? That time that Hayao Miyazaki was shown an AI demonstration and replied simply with “I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.” https://twitter.com/...
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@sokane1
Sean O'Kane
on x
“There are just more questions than answers here, and some of those questions get at the very nature of what it means for our lives to be literally mediated by screens.” https://www.theverge.com/...
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@ow
Owen Williams
on x
...I'm skeptical of the premise in general. Apple's demo was “killer” use cases like...browsing the web? Calling people? Watching movies? And always alone. Definitely feels like Apple Watch launch where they went wide and found a use case as they iterated—fitness, not fashion. [v…
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@ow
Owen Williams
on x
Having thought about the Apple Vision Pro announcement for a while I'm both excited and...not. It's a marriage of a bunch of amazing technologies in only a way Apple could to make happen, and looks like an amazing experience that nails great UX for a mixed reality world. But... […
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@panzer
@panzer
on x
Ok, I used the Apple Vision Pro for about 30 minutes. It's good. It's expensive. It's VERY design, and MUCH engineering. I'm intrigued as hell. https://techcrunch.com/...
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@levie
Aaron Levie
on x
Just got to try Apple Vision. Definitely wild. Hand and eye tracking is basically perfect, instantly understandable UX, the graphics are incredible, and the setup was seconds. For a first edition product this is a very good starting place.
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@youshouldaffirm
@youshouldaffirm
on x
You're a rock star #WWDC23 [video]
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@joannastern
Joanna Stern
on x
I got to try out Apple's Vision Pro this afternoon. It is by far the best headset out there. But it's still a headset. https://www.wsj.com/...
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@wallernikki
Nikki Waller
on x
“In my ear, a gentle voice..tells me to relax and breathe deep as I see the (digital) ocean waves meet the (real) coffee table. Of course I can't relax, lady. I've got three-and-a-half-thousand bucks strapped to my face.” https://twitter.com/...
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@itsdansheehan
Dan Sheehan
on x
This is gonna be a game changer for movie cops with dead wives [video]
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@techcrunch
@techcrunch
on x
“Every bit of this thing shows Apple-level ambition. I don't know whether it will be the ‘next computing mode’, but you can see the conviction behind each of the choices made here. No corners cut.” @panzer on Apple Vision Pro. https://techcrunch.com/...
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@katebevan
Kate Bevan
on x
Good piece from @JoannaStern on the Apple headset. Thinking more about this, I think Apple has been smart to present it as an AR rather than VR device, and it's obvs been very well executed. I remain v skeptical, but interested to see how it develops. https://www.wsj.com/...
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@techcrunch
@techcrunch
on x
At first glance, Apple stuck the landing on aspects of VR/AR others have failed to nail. 👋 Gesture controls 🫥 Image passthrough 📚 Text that's readable 🎥 3D movies that are actually good Read @panzer's firsthand experience with the Vision Pro. https://techcrunch.com/...
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@mkbhd
Marques Brownlee
on x
NEW VIDEO - I got to try Apple Vision Pro and ask a ton of questions! Here is everything you need to know (for now) about Apple's new $3500 VR headset: https://www.youtube.com/... [image]
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@ow
@ow
on x
There's some really amazing things going on with the Vision Pro—and beautiful hardware— but some large social hurdles to clear as well. It felt very dystopian! I don't really see what would make me truly want/need to get it. I want to use my phone/screens less, not more.
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@robertjbye
Robert Bye
on x
My biggest worry with VR is the social impact it's going to have on an individual level. As @reckless put it in his hands on ‘I do know that wearing this thing felt oddly lonely.’ Phone addiction is going to be paltry to the immersiveness of VR. https://www.theverge.com/...
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@buccocapital
BuccoCapital Guy
on x
Pretty funny, in hindsight, that we roasted these for being too bulky and tech-forward [image]
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@vanschneider
Tobias van Schneider
on x
I gotta admit, this part made me a bit sad. [image]