Technologies

Apple Vision Pro Hands-On: Far Better Than I Was Ready For

I experienced incredible fidelity, surprising video quality and a really smooth interface. Apple’s first mixed-reality headset nails those, but lots of questions remain.

I was in a movie theater last December watching Avatar: The Way of Water in 3D, and I said to myself: «Wow, this is an immersive film I’d love to watch in next-gen VR.» That’s exactly what I experienced in Apple’s Vision Pro headset, and yeah, it’s amazing.

On Monday, I tried out the Vision Pro in a series of carefully picked demos during WWDC at Apple’s Cupertino, California, headquarters. I’ve been using cutting-edge VR devices for years, and I found all sorts of augmented reality memories bubbling up in my brain. Apple’s compact — but still not small —headset reminds me of an Apple-designed Meta Quest Pro. The fit of the back strap was comfy yet stretchy, with a dial to adjust the rear fit and a top strap for stability. The headset’s sleek design, and even its glowing front faceplate, also gave me an instant Ready Player One vibe.

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05:35

I couldn’t wear my glasses during the demo, though, and neither will you. Apple’s headset does not support glasses, instead relying on Zeiss custom inserts to correct wearers’ vision. Apple did manage, through a setup process, to easily find lenses that fit my vision well enough so that everything seemed crystal clear, which is not an easy task. Also, we adjusted the fit and tuned spatial audio for my head using an iPhone, a system that will be finessed when the headset is released in 2024.

From there, I did my demos seated, mostly, and found myself surprised from the start. The passthrough video camera quality of this headset is good —really, really good. Not as good as my own vision, but good enough that I could see the room well, see people in it with me, see my watch notifications easily on my wrist. The only headset that’s done this previously was the extremely impressive but PC-connected Varjo XR-3, and Apple’s display and cameras feel even better.

Apple’s floating grid of apps appears when I press the top digital crown, which autocenters the home screen to wherever I’m looking. I set up eye tracking, which worked like on many other VR headsets I’ve used: I looked at glowing dots as musical notes played, and got a chime when it all worked.

An app menu in Apple's VisionOS. — A list of apps as they would appear inside of the Apple Vision Pro headset.

Apple/Screenshot by CNET

From there, the interface was surprisingly fluid. Looking at icons or interface options slightly enlarges them, or changes how bold they appear. Tapping with my fingers while looking at something opens an app.

I’ve used tons of hand-tracking technology on headsets like the HoloLens 2 and the Meta Quest 2 and Pro, and usually there’s a lot of hand motion required. Here, I could be really lazy. I pinched to open icons even while my hand was resting in my lap, and it worked.

Scrolling involves pinching and pulling with my fingers; again, pretty easy to do. I resized windows by moving my hand to throw a window across the room or pin it closer to me. I opened multiple apps at once, including Safari, Messages and Photos. It was easy enough to scroll around, although sometimes my eye tracking needed a bit of extra concentration to pull off.

More from WWDC 2023

Apple’s headset uses eye tracking constantly in its interface, something Meta’s Quest Pro and even the PlayStation VR 2 don’t do. That might be part of the reason for the external battery pack. The emphasis on eye tracking as a major part of the interface felt transformative, in a way I expected might be the case for VR and AR years ago. What I don’t know is how it will feel in longer sessions.

I don’t know how the Vision Pro will work with keyboards and trackpads, since I didn’t get to demo the headset that way. It works with Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad, and Macs, but not with iPhone and iPad or Watch touchscreens —not now, at least.

Dialing in reality

I scrolled through some photos in Apple’s preset photo album, plus a few 3D photos and video clips shot with the Vision Pro’s 3D camera. All the images looked really crisp, and a panoramic photo that spread around me looked almost like it was a window on a landscape that extended just beyond the room I was in.

Apple has volumetric 3D landscapes on the Vision Pro that are immersive backgrounds like 3D wallpaper, but looking at one really shows off how nice that Micro OLED display looks. A lake looked like it was rolling up to a rocky shore that ended right where the real coffee table was in front of me.

man using keyboard to work using apple vision pro headset

Raising my hands to my face, I saw how the headset separates my hands from VR, a trick that’s already in Apple’s ARKit. It’s a little rough around the edges but good enough. Similarly, there’s a wild new trick where anyone else in the room can ghost into view if you look at them, a fuzzy halo with their real passthrough video image slowly materializing. It’s meant to help create meaningful contact with people while wearing the headset. I wondered how you could turn that off or tune it to be less present, but it’s a very new idea in mixed reality.

Apple’s digital crown, a small dial borrowed from the Apple Watch, handles reality blend. I could turn the dial to slowly extend the 3D panorama until it surrounded me everywhere, or dial it back so it just emerged a little bit like a 3D window.

Mixed reality in Apple’s headset looks so casually impressive that I almost didn’t appreciate how great it was. Again, I’ve seen mixed reality in VR headsets before (Varjo XR-3, Quest Pro), and I’ve understood its capabilities. Apple’s execution of mixed reality felt much more immersive, rich and effortless on most fronts, with a field of view that felt expansive and rich. I can’t to see more experiences in it.

Cinematic fidelity that wowed me

The cinema demo was what really shocked me, though. I played a 3D clip of Avatar: The Way of Water in-headset, on a screen in various viewing modes including a cinema. Apple’s mixed-reality passthrough can also dim the rest of the world down a bit, in a way similar to how the Magic Leap 2 does with its AR. But the scenes of Way of Water sent little chills through me. It was vivid. This felt like a movie experience. I don’t feel that way in other VR headsets.

Avatar: The Way of Water looked great in the Vision Pro.

20th Century Studios

Apple also demonstrated its Immersive Video format that’s coming as an extension to Apple TV Plus. It’s a 180-degree video format, similar to what I’ve seen before in concept, but with really strong resolution and video quality. A splash demo reel of Alicia Keys singing, Apple Sports events, documentary footage and more reeled off in front of me, a teaser of what’s to come. One-eighty-degree video never appears quite as crisp to me as big-screen film content, but the sports clips I saw made me wonder how good virtual Jets games could be in the future. Things have come a long way.

Would I pay $3,499 for a head-worn cinema? No, but it’s clearly one of this device’s greatest unique strengths. The resolution and brightness of the display were surprising.

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03:59

Convincing avatars (I mean, Personas)

Apple’s Personas are 3D-scanned avatars generated by using the Vision Pro to scan your face, making a version of yourself that shows up in FaceTime chats if you want, or also on the outside of the Vision Pro’s curved OLED display to show whether you’re «present» or in an app. I didn’t see how that outer display worked, but I had a FaceTime with someone in their Persona form, and it was good. Again, it looked surprisingly good.

I’ve chatted with Meta’s ultra-realistic Codec Avatars, which aim for realistic representations of people in VR. Those are stunning, and I’ve also seen Meta’s phone-scanned step-down version in an early form last year, where a talking head spoke to me in VR. Apple’s Persona looked better than Meta’s phone-scanned avatar, although a bit fuzzy around the edges, like a dream. The woman whose Persona was scanned appeared in her own window, not in a full-screen form.

And I wondered how expressive the emotions are with the Vision Pro’s scanning cameras. The Pro has an ability to scan jaw movement similar to the Quest Pro, and the Persona I chatted with was friendly and smiling. How would it look for someone I know, like my mom? Here, it was good enough that I forgot it was a scan.

We demoed a bit of Apple’s Freeform app, where a collaboration window opened up while my Persona friend chatted in another window. 3D objects popped up in the Freeform app, a full home scan. It looked realistic enough.

Dinosaurs in my world

The final demo was an app experience called Encounter Dinosaurs, which reminded me of early VR app demos I had years ago: An experience emphasizing just the immersive «wow» factor of dinosaurs appearing in a 3D window that seemed to open up in the back wall of my demo room. Creatures that looked like carnotauruses slowly walked through the window and into my space.

All my demos were seated except for this one, where I stood up and walked around a bit. This sounds like it wouldn’t be an impressive demo, but again, the quality of the visuals and how they looked in relation to the room’s passthrough video capture was what made it feel so great. As the dinosaur snapped at my hand, it felt pretty real. And so did a butterfly that danced through the room and tried to land on my extended finger.

I smiled. But even more so, I was impressed when I took off the headset. My own everyday vision wasn’t that much sharper than what Apple’s passthrough cameras provided. The gap between the two was closer than I would have expected, and it’s what makes Apple’s take on mixed reality in VR work so well.

Then there’s the battery pack. There’s a corded battery that’s needed to power the headset, instead of a built-in battery like most others have. That meant I had to make sure to grab the battery pack as I started to move around, which is probably a reason why so many of Apple’s demos were seated.

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What about fitness and everything else?

Apple didn’t emphasize fitness much at all, a surprise to me. VR is already a great platform for fitness, although no one’s finessed headset design for fitness comfort. Maybe having that battery pack right now will limit movement in active games and experiences. Maybe Apple will announce more plans here later. The only taste I got of health and wellness was a one-minute micro meditation, which was similar to the one on the Apple Watch. It was pretty, and again a great showcase of the display quality, but I want more.

2024 is still a while away, and Apple’s headset is priced way out of range for most people. And I have no idea how functional this current headset would feel if I were doing everyday work. But Apple did show off a display, and an interface, that are far better than I was ready for. If Apple can build on that, and the Vision Pro finds ways of expanding its mixed-reality capabilities, then who knows what else is possible?

This was just my fast-take reaction to a quick set of demos on one day in Cupertino. There are a lot more questions to come, but this first set of demos resonated with me. Apple showed what it can do, and we’re not even at the headset’s launch yet.

Technologies

Can Chemicals Turn My Orange iPhone 17 Pink? Here’s What I Found Out

There are reports that some cosmic orange iPhone 17 Pro handsets are turning pink. I threw chemicals at my iPhone to see what would happen.

A recent Reddit thread suggests that it’s possible for a cosmic orange iPhone 17 Pro to turn vibrant pink. As PCMag’s Eric Zeman noted, it’s likely that the phone has been discolored by cleaning substances that affected the finish, turning it from vibrant orange to a wild hot pink. Sure, this might technically be a fault, but in all honesty I love pink phones and the idea of a hot pink iPhone 17 Pro filled me with joy. So I wanted to see if I could test the theory and see just what color-changing effects various household cleaners might have on my phone.

It’s important to note here that the iPhone 17 Pro I used was bought by CNET for the purposes of testing. Had I paid over $1,000 of my own money I wouldn’t be so reckless in smearing it with chemicals that could potentially irreparably harm it. And you shouldn’t either. If you need to clean your phone, do it safely. Disclaimer aside, let’s dive in.

The chemicals

I bought two chemicals to test this out. Zeman explains that it may be oxidation that caused the color to change and that hydrogen peroxide could do this. I couldn’t find this over the counter in the UK, so I instead bought an «oxy-active» stain remover spray that, among other things, contains «oxygen-based bleaching agents» which sounded ideal. Apple also clearly states «don’t use products containing bleach or hydrogen peroxide» on its support page so, naturally, I bought some thick bleach too.

Oxy application

I started by spraying the oxy cleaner on a microfiber cloth until it was noticeably wet from the liquid and then liberally applied this all over the rear of the iPhone. The Reddit user with the affected phone showed that it only affected the metal parts, not the glass back panel, so I made sure to focus my attention on the sides and camera bar.

With the phone well and truly doused in chemicals that have no business being anywhere near a phone, I left it to sit and think about what it had done for 30 minutes — after which time I wiped it dry and took a close inspection. Disappointingly, my phone was still factory orange, rather than «what the hell have you done to your phone» pink. Time to move on.

Bleach blast

I opened the bleach and trying hard not to think about my days as a middle school cleaner, applied a liberal blob of the stuff to a cloth and smeared it over the defenceless phone, concentrating again on the metal areas. I definitely should have worn protective gloves for all of this so please make sure you take better care of yourself than I do if you do anything with bleach.

Again, I gave it a 30-minute settling in period before cleaning it off and inspecting the results.

The phone remained as orange as ever, looking as box fresh as it was the day before when it was, indeed, box fresh. The orange color hadn’t changed and now almost 24 hours later there’s still no sign of discoloration of any kind.

Is the pink iPhone 17 real?

I can’t say with any certainty whether the Reddit user’s images of a pink iPhone 17 Pro are real or not. The cuddly human side of me wants to take them at their word, while the journalist in me is sceptical. What I can say with certainty is that putting your orange iPhone into close contact with household cleaning products isn’t going to win you a funky, ultra-rare pink hue that you could sell on eBay for a small fortune.

It’s possible that using pure peroxide could be the thing that does it, but to be honest, if you’re going out of your way to throw industrial-grade chemicals at your phone then you may as well just directly try and dye it. My goal here was to see how susceptible the orange model is to everyday household cleaners such as kitchen cleaner or bathroom bleach — the sort of things it might naturally come into contact with in routine use. And what I’ve found is that, no, it won’t ruin the nice orange color. But it’s probably still not good for your phone.

Technologies

My Teen Loves Her Apple AirPods Pro 2 and You Will Too With This $100 Off Deal for Black Friday

Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 have everything you could want from a pair of wireless earbuds, plus a steep discount.

Black Friday deals: The Apple AirPods Pro 2 are some of the best personal audio gear on the market, even if they aren’t the latest model anymore. Sure, Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 are the newest earbuds in the lineup but the AirPods Pro 2 are still an excellent pick for most people.

They’re an even better buy this week during early Black Friday sales when you can get your hands on a pair of Apple AirPods Pro 2 at a discount. Right now, Walmart is shaving a massive $100 off the AirPods Pro 2, dropping the cost to $139. That’s one of the lowest prices we’ve seen — but we doubt this deal will stick around for long.

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CNET’s key takeaways

You can get these amazing earbuds for just $139 right now at Walmart.
My teenager loves everything about them.
The sound quality is exceptional.
The noise cancellation can help give you some peace, even in a busy home.

My 13-year-old daughter loves her music and her privacy, and for years she has wanted a pair of AirPods. They’re not cheap so I’ve only been getting her more budget options, like the Amazon Echo Buds, as a result. These kept seemingly disappearing, though, so I finally ponied up for the AirPods Pro 2.

I picked them up during last year’s sales, and they were definitely well-received. She’s happy, she uses them every day, and she hasn’t lost them yet. The AirPods Pro 2 are currently on sale at Walmart for $139, a nice price for a high-quality pair like these, and one of the lowest we’ve seen.

What about the AirPods Pro 3?

The AirPods Pro 3 weren’t available at the time I bought the AirPods Pro 2, but they were rumored, and I didn’t wait to see what they offered. As CNET’s resident headphone expert, David Carnoy summarized in his AirPods Pro 3 and Pro 3 comparison, the newer model is «significantly improved in the four most important areas: fit, sound quality, noise cancellation and battery life.» They also have heart-rate monitoring, like the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2.

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While these are undoubtedly all important things, a lot of people aren’t going to notice the differences or make the most of the new features. With the AirPods Pro 3 being newer, they’re on a smaller sale and are currently available at Amazon for $220, which is $30 off the list price.

Why I didn’t get the AirPods 4 instead

Why did I choose AirPods Pro 2 instead of the AirPods 4 with ANC? First, as I mentioned in another article about a different pair of earbuds I bought, I think sealed, in-ear buds are better than open-design models like the AirPods 4. The seal creates another layer of noise isolation and contributes to superior sound quality, and if you want to pay attention to the world you can always engage ambient sound mode, which Apple calls transparency mode.

Also a factor was that, at the time, Carnoy considered the Pro 2 the best Apple noise-canceling wireless earbuds: «While we’re quite impressed with those new models — and with the AirPods 4 ANC in particular — the AirPods Pro 2 remain arguably the best Apple AirPods you can buy if you don’t mind having silicone ear tips jammed in your ears,» he said.

My daughter uses earplugs all the time to help her sleep, so she definitely qualifies as somebody who’s comfortable stuffing things in her ears. Like her fingers, when I start using words like «sigma,» «skibidi» and «relatable» to try to relate to her.

I asked Carnoy about the Pro 2s potentially not fitting in her kid-size ears and he reassured me that the range of eartips that come with the Pro 2s «now include XS, so they should fit.»

Do AirPods make a great gift?

It took me years to finally understand, but yes, for someone looking for wireless earbuds, AirPods — especially the Apple AirPods Pro 2 — make the perfect gift, regardless of whether you’re a teenage girl.

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Technologies

If You’re Flying for the Holidays, This Bluetooth Dongle Transforms In-Flight Movies, and It’s 35% Off for Black Friday

Watch airplane movies just like you would at home with this game-changing device.

Air travel for the holidays can be stressful, especially when winter weather or flight delays force a change of plans, but one perk of flying still remains — watching new-release movies. However, in-flight entertainment on most airlines usually requires a wired set of earbuds. (And the ones the airline hands out are so bad they may as well not even be connected.)

I’d far prefer to use my wireless, noise-canceling AirPods Pro, but they connect only via Bluetooth. There’s a simple tech solution that makes viewing movies on the plane feel more like watching them on your couch.

The AirFly is a simple Bluetooth dongle that allows me to connect my wireless earbuds directly to the airplane’s entertainment system, eliminating the need for adapters or wired workarounds.

It’s become a must-pack item in my travel bag. Since I started using it, I’ve stopped dreading in-flight audio and finally get to enjoy movies on the plane. If you fly often, this little gadget could completely change how you travel. And the base level AirFly SE is 35% off for Black Friday at Amazon.

The AirFly Pro lets me enjoy in-flight entertainment

The AirFly Pro from Twelve South is a minimally designed dongle that allows me to connect to the 3.5mm headphone jack in my airplane seat, enabling me to listen to in-flight entertainment on my noise-canceling earbuds.

All I have to do is pair the AirFly with the Bluetooth headphones I’m using, such as my AirPods Pro, plug the AirFly into the display in front of me, and I’m all set. I don’t even need to use my phone to connect the two devices.

There are several versions of the AirFly: the AirFly SE, which is currently on sale for $26 on Amazon and connects to just one set of headphones, the AirFly Pro at $55, the Pro V2 at $60 and the Pro 2 Deluxe at $70, which comes with an international headphone adapter and a suede travel case.

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I use the AirFly Pro, which has been a game-changer for me on flights. I’ve never had to worry about battery life since the AirFly Pro lasts for over 25 hours and can be fully charged in just three hours. I can also pair two separate pairs of headphones to a single AirFly Pro, in case I’m with someone else on a flight and want to watch the same movie or show.

And if that’s not enough, the AirFly Pro also doubles as an audio transmitter, allowing me to turn any speaker with a headphone jack, such as my old car stereo, into a Bluetooth speaker.

The AirFly Pro makes a great gift for any traveler

The AirFly Pro is the perfect present to give to someone who’s planning to travel this year. Besides my Anker MagSafe battery pack, the AirFly Pro has become my most treasured travel accessory when I fly, which is why I consider it one of those can’t-go-wrong gifts.

For more travel gear, here are our favorite tech essentials to travel with and our favorite travel pillows.