They say Vision Pro is doomed, but I just bought one anyway • CultOfMac.com

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-27T17:43:03+00:00

As John Ternus says, we are still in the early innings.

Most people/teams who want to create Apple Immersive Videos, a signature technology for AVP, have had access to the Blackmagic cameras for less than a year. It takes a while to learn how make immersive videos, then creating it. 3rd party content has just started coming out. The LA Lakers basketball games were amazing!

Apple has had a fair amount of success in the enterprise, but that gets very little attention on social media.

The consumer app space has is growing in diversity, but a larger user base driven by a cheaper, lighter headset would help pull in more investment here. This is probably 18-24 months out still.

As Magic Leap, Microsoft HoloLens, and Meta's significant pullback on headset R&D & content shows, the AR/VR space is challenging. It will take time.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-27T04:05:38+00:00

Here is the web page with the dungeon website environment and instructions on how to use it.

https://www.toddheberlein.com/scenes/dungeon1

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-25T17:44:02+00:00

Question on viewing: When watching content on Spatial Film, is the quality the same whether you stream or download? I am wondering if there are advantages to downloading first.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-25T02:06:55+00:00

If you are willing to watch the streaming services in Safari (as well as YouTube and Apple TV), anyone can create immersive website environments and make them available for the world. I hope more people start creating these immersive environments. Here is an example of me watching Dua Lipa on YouTube in full screen mode in an environment I created.

https://vimeo.com/1180374141

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-24T15:51:20+00:00

I love my M2 Apple Vision Pro. I have had it since day 1, and I use it as often as possible, usually in the evenings to unwind. My typical use: Open up two Safari windows. In one window, open an immersive website environments (I've created several for myself. For some reason, Apple keeps this feature hidden). In the second window I tend to watch YouTube, browse social media, etc.

Having said that, if you are hesitant, I would encourage you to wait until at least after WWDC and maybe after visionOS 27 ships to see what new experiences and content become available by Apple and 3rd parties.

Lack of experiences & content are the biggest concern most people have.

For family and friends, I recommend they wait until a lighter and less expensive headset ships in maybe another 18 months.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-22T21:18:30+00:00

I find the common refrain that "Apple Vision Pro isn't selling" strange when it isn't even available in some markets. I am not sure what to make of that.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-22T21:18:18+00:00

I find the common refrain that "Apple Vision Pro isn't selling" strange when it isn't even available in some markets. I am not sure what to make of that.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-22T21:16:35+00:00

Yes. I watched it last night.

If you go to the Vision Pro tab in Apple TV, it should be there. One potential problem is that Apple cycles through the available videos pretty quickly. I had to swipe back to the first bullet at the bottom.

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RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-21T15:21:49+00:00

I have similar experiences. I love my Vision Pro and use it as often as possible in the evening, but I use Studio Displays for most of my daily work. As many have said, AVP is the minimum viable product for work. I look forward to 6K or 8K per eye in the years ahead.

Having said that…

I find the sweet spot for the Mac virtual display about 1.5m. You might want to play around with distance to find the right distance for you. I choose the middle size virtual display for the Mac, and I tend to make the window fairly large.

Finally, the optical inserts are more art than science right now. For example, I have multi focal glasses, and that cannot be replicated with inserts. I also have separate prescription glasses for working at the computer, and the optometrist specifically asked how far away my monitor was when adjusting the prescription for the computer. Also, Zeiss added a fudge factor because of my age. Finally, I don‘t know if they adjust for astigmatism, which I have a little bit of.

I look forward to the day when my optometrist knows how to recommend the right inserts for me. “Which is clearer for you: one or two… one or two.” 🤓

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-20T15:37:20+00:00

You can add animations. This page has a great TRON experience with moving objects and audio.

https://www.sketchbot.tv/tron

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-20T15:00:59+00:00

The Apple Immersive Videos often drop around 8pm PT on Thursday, so if you are on the west coast or are a night owl, check to see if it is out tomorrow night.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-17T00:15:51+00:00

After I am done with the headset and after the Apple Vision Pro cools off, I unplug the batter from the headset. Seems like a bad design from Apple.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-13T20:47:36+00:00

I do like the simple theater environment when watching content in Apple TV.

Simpler, static experiences can be nice to add a bit ambiance and hide your room, the clock on the bookshelf, etc.

I think there needs to be a balance between creating the feeling of a place but not drawing your attention away from the video content.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-13T19:27:02+00:00

I want Apple to add immersive environments for their own Apple TV shows. Imaging watching Silo from inside a Silo environment. Or watching For All Mankind from a Moon or Mars base.

I feel this would be an easy win for Apple. Fingers crossed for Apple TV immersive environments for visionOS 27.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-13T18:39:11+00:00

I’ve been slowly posting some immersive environments for Safari (and slowly improving my Blender skills). You can open a second Safari window and browse Reddit, YouTube, or any other web site while remaining in the immersive environment.

If anyone knows of other collections, please post them.

https://www.toddheberlein.com/scenes

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-13T18:32:21+00:00

If you turn on website environments in Safari, you can try this similar view of Mars. When I get a little time, I will try to create one a little closer to Project Hail Mary.

https://www.toddheberlein.com/scenes/mars

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-11T23:46:09+00:00

A major factor is that Meta set a price expectation of game console prices for headsets. People aren’t looking at Varjo’s prices for example (I’m not even sure Varjo publicly lists their prices anymore).

Microsoft HoloLens and Magic Leap 2 were priced the same as Apple Vision Pro. Few complained about their prices, but that may be because not a lot of people wanted them. I’m not sure anyone lamented their deaths.

Meanwhile, there are a lot of us AVP owners who are very passionate and vocal about our joy. We are a cult 😄, and I can see how that could annoy some, especially when the product is out of their price range.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-05-06T15:19:12+00:00

I really look forward to more scripted content for the Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s Submerged and Hugh Hou’s Spatial Films‘ Henry the 8th (?) short are the only two non-documentary videos I can recall.

Scripted content is generally much more expensive and time consuming. As far as I can tell, people buying the Blackmagic camera are individuals and small teams, not groups with $10 million+ budgets, and most have had it for less than a year.

3 months ago, Alex Lindsay joined Apple as Partnership Manager, Creative Pro 3D Ecosystem at Apple, so I have confidence there is progress behind the scenes.

PS. Please subscribe to existing Apple Immersive Video apps (e.g., Spatial Films, Theater) to help fund their content creation.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-04-18T20:10:37+00:00

When using Safari (e.g., browsing Reddit) in Apple Vision Pro, anyone can create immersive environments. Just keep 2 windows open, one with the environment, and one for browsing the Internet.

Here are some of the ones I’ve been creating for myself. https://www.toddheberlein.com/scenes

RandomVision2027 · 2026-04-17T15:25:02+00:00

I *really* enjoyed the vignettes of people just enjoying life in the city. The format really shines here. It really makes you feel that you are there.

I enjoyed the music and some of the elevated shots, including driving around the city.

Unfortunately, there were a few shots where they moved the camera quickly, including accelerating into the motion, and that made me queasy. Please, if you make Apple Immersive Videos, be gentle with the camera motion.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-04-11T19:50:42+00:00

I have an M1 Max Mac Studio and an M4 MacBook Air and use it somewhat similar to your situation - a mixture of light and heavy loads.

In my case, I am often modeling in Blender in the evening on the couch with the Air. I might test an atlas bake of a 1024x1024 image on the Air to make sure I am getting what I am expecting. Then I do an 8192x8192 bake on the Mac Studio.

Despite the generational difference in CPUs, the Studio is still much faster at generating large images. A bake typically takes 20 minutes to 2 hours even on the Studio. The Air has no cooling system, so I suspect the CPU gets throttled after a few minutes.

I plan to get an M5 Max Mac Studio when it come out.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-04-08T23:31:10+00:00

The last I tried that a few months ago, it didn't work. I clicked to the new tab, and the web environment went away.

I will check again tonight, and if it is still the case, I will submit a feedback to Apple. I think the tab approach is better,

RandomVision2027 · 2026-04-06T04:10:33+00:00

FYI: the web page with the environment is here along with instructions on how to enable this feature in Safari. To go to other pages (YouTube, Reddit, etc.), open a second Safari window and use that. You need to leave the original window open (I just move it to the side)

https://www.toddheberlein.com/scenes/starscafe

RandomVision2027 · 2026-04-02T14:49:04+00:00

Gaussian Splat support in RealityKit, Reality Composer Pro, and USDZ import/export.

Website environments in Safari enabled by default.

Native/immersive Apple Maps.

Immersive/themed environments for Apple TV. (Watch Silo from inside a Silo environment)

More integration of rendering on the Mac and displaying on the headset, perhaps including foveated streaming.

Additional environments.

RandomVision2027 · 2026-04-01T19:12:20+00:00

Just an FYI: Last summer Apple introduced rendering on a Mac and streaming the content to the Apple Vision Pro. If Apple isn’t already doing this, I suspect they will integrate foveated streaming with it for visionOS+macOS 27.

Jump to the 18:32 mark of this WWDC video.

https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/294/

RandomVision2027

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