I just went hands-on with the Apple Vision Pro headset – here are my initial thoughts

The ultra-expensive Apple Vision Pro headset is about to become available in the UK (starting at £3,499). Ahead of its launch, I was invited to Apple’s offices to experience a demonstration of the headset’s capabilities.

To put it lightly, I’ve never participated in a demo that’s as futuristic and exciting as this was, and it’s worth explaining exactly what it feels like to spend some time inside the virtual and augmented reality of Apple’s pricey headset.

Is it worth it? Who’s it for? And how does it feel for longer-term use? We’ll have a full review on Good Housekeeping soon. But for now, here are my initial thoughts as someone who hasn’t yet been immersed in the world of VR:

The first thing I noticed is that the Vision Pro is an impressively sleek device. That’s what you’d expect from Apple, but it’s still worth remarking on just how beautifully it’s designed. For something that’s going to be unfamiliar to so many of us, it’s great to see that it’s not hard to pick up and make sense of.

There are a few key components, including the headset itself, the pocketable battery pack, the “Light Seal” and “Light Seal Cushion” that work together to keep light out of your eyes, and the headband, which comes with two options: a stretchy “Solo Knitted Band” and a supportive “Dual Loop Band”.

The headset itself is jammed full of high-end tech and it’s fairly heavy at 600 to 650g. The most apparent parts here are the Micro‑OLED displays in front of each eye, the “Spatial Audio” speakers and microphones, and the dizzying array of sensors and cameras to track the input method: your hands and eyes.

I have to caveat this by saying I’ve only spent half an hour with the Vision Pro, but I didn’t experience any issues with comfort during my time hands-on with it. It’s easy to put on and take off, but getting a good fit is essential.

In the demo, my first “Light Seal” was not quite the right fit on my cheekbones and I needed a new one for the correct fit. I also only used the “Solo Knitted Band” but found it did a good job of distributing the weight. It may get less comfortable after a long session, due to the weight. But I had no issues within the 30-minute trial.

Setting it up is straightforward too, you first need to do a face scan that’s a bit like the setup process for Face ID on an iPhone. That’s to help you find the right fit. Then, once you’re wearing the headset, you set up the hand tracking by looking at your own hands, and then the eye-tracking by looking at dots within the display and pinching your thumb and forefinger to confirm.

The actual control system is surprisingly intuitive. Every time you simply look at something, it's highlighted with a subtle but evident glow, and then you use a pinch gesture to “click” on what’s selected.

You can always jump back to the main app screen by pressing the “Digital Crown” on the right-hand side of the headset. Scrolling happens when you pinch and then move your hand either vertically or horizontally, and you pinch with both hands and move them to zoom in or out of photos and webpages.

You can leave your hands down at your side during this whole experience, and the cameras will continue to monitor them for the gesture. It’s easy and takes mere minutes to learn.

What does it feel like to look around within the Vision Pro? Almost exactly like real life. The video passthrough shows you the world around you in seriously high detail, and the resolution is so impressive that it feels like you’re looking through a window at the world.

It seems only slightly dimmer than reality, but it’s something I quickly adjusted to. I was able to hold a conversation with someone next to me in a way that felt natural. The apps and interface all exist in the world around you and it’s simple to freely move them around and resize them with hand gestures.

Some of the most striking things you can do within the Vision Pro are different types of immersive experiences. The first one that I got to see was with photos and videos – it’s possible to view your photos in full size, right in front of you, and with panoramas you’re able to display them all around you.

I was shown an incredible panoramic landscape scene in Iceland, and it felt like visiting a moment frozen in time. That’s even more the case for “Spatial Videos”, which you can shoot on iPhone 15 Pro models. I was shown some family videos and they make you feel exactly like you’re there.

Apple often advertises things as “magical”, and this is one of those things that really feels like it is – it’s easy to imagine a future where you could almost “travel back in time” to moments shot in this format. Although it is something you’d be doing on your own in the headset which is a shame for something that feels designed to be a shared experience.

You can also put yourself into immersive apps and environments. I was shown several, including putting myself on a mountaintop, complete with the sound effects to fit the situation. You can stay in this location and use something like the Mindfulness app for a peaceful meditation session.

Perhaps the most compelling portion of the demo was within the Encounter Dinosaurs app on the Vision Pro. Here, you’re flung into a fully lifelike world complete with creatures that appear to respond to your movements and actions.

A butterfly “landed” on my finger virtually, and then I was able to stand up and walk towards the dinosaurs. It makes you feel like they come super close to you – it’s hard to explain just how real and unnerving it feels to have one breathing down your neck! I could say it’s a bit like a theme park ride, but that still doesn’t quite capture it.

I was also shown creative apps for DJing and making music, watching five basketball games at once (ideal for sports fanatics?) and viewing and interacting with 3D objects in front of you. Many more programmes like this may launch and make this a much more vibrant platform for apps and developers, but at the moment you’re of course not going to have quite as many apps to use as you can on an iPad, for example. The ones you can use are incredibly impressive, though.

Entertainment is bound to be one of the key uses of the Vision Pro, and after viewing clips from films within the headset, it’s easy to see why. It’s like transporting you to a cinema without leaving your home or allowing you to watch a film on the top of that same mountain I mentioned before. It’s stunning and fully immersive. I got to see a clip from Avatar: The Way of Water in 3D, and it was astounding.

I can picture how watching an entire film would be, although once again it’s a shame that it’s an experience designed for just one person, and shared experiences don’t seem to be part of this platform yet. And, of course, you’d have to hope that the headset remains comfortable throughout the runtime.

There’s a lot to like here, and the demo I experienced was rather jaw-dropping. But is this product more than a demonstration yet?

After leaving, I felt myself realising I was still full of questions related to how people would use the Apple Vision Pro or how much they’d get out of it. I should note that there’s still loads to discuss, like how there’s an extra cost for special lenses if you wear glasses (although I wore my contact lenses and that was fine); how I noticed that we didn’t have any demonstration of the mode that can show your eyes on the outside screen; whether the two-hour life of the battery pack is an issue or if you’d use it more connected to a wall plug… and, however impressive it is, it’s still a large and expensive piece of technology.

But, once you’ve tried it, it’s possible to see the potential too. For entertainment, education and immersion, it may be a fantastical platform for applications and experiences. The control system is intuitive and photos and “spatial” videos are especially incredible to witness.

The best news is that the demonstration I experienced should be a lot like the in-store experience available at Apple Stores, so the best recommendation I can make is to book one and try it. It feels like peering into the future of what tech might become – and you have to see that for yourself.

Simon Cocks

Technology Ecommerce Editor

Simon Cocks is Hearst UK’s Technology Ecommerce Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy across a range of titles including Good Housekeeping UK, Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.   

Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, ebook readers and smartphones. He's reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.  

A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.  

He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.  

He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  

When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.  

You can follow Simon on Instagram at @simonrcocks, on Threads at @simonrcocks, and on Twitter/X at @simoncocks.