If the last few weeks have proven anything, it’s that you shouldn’t use Apple Vision Pro on the go. One cyclist figured this out the hard way.
DC Rainmaker, a sports technology reviewer, recently tested out cycling with an Apple Vision Pro and the video provides a lot of great information if you’re looking to use the headset for exercise. While somewhat effective inside on a static bike, taking the headset outside proves, as you’d expect, to be dangerous.
Apple Vision Pro is a spatial computing headset which means it holds your screens in a real space in your world, which you can walk away from and come back to at a later date. This means that moving while using it can be problematic because it is designed to be used in an enclosed space. When Rainmaker took the headset outside on his bike, he realized there was no way to bring digital screens with him. After this happened, an annoying screen lost notification hogs the middle of the screen.
Cyclists like Rainmaker are forced to just use its passthrough, which struggles to keep up with the speed of the bike. Most worryingly, Rainmaker’s headset cuts to black for a few seconds as he speeds towards a corner. He surmises this has something to do with the screen recording function, but this is incredibly dangerous nonetheless, and something he advises against trying.
The silver lining
Rainmaker is actually very positive about the experience of using Apple Vision Pro whilst cycling indoors on his Peloton bike, likening the headset to a ‘giant ass TV.’ Zwift and Peloton don’t have native apps for the headset yet, but you can mirror your Mac to it, and it works just fine. He uses the Peloton on his Mac and mirrors that on his Apple Vision Pro, which then connects to his bike. It all looks rather seamless.
He talks very positively about the implementation of immersive environments in his video and even praises how well it handles screens that would otherwise cause motion sickness.
Despite Apple clarifying in a support document that you shouldn’t get liquid near the headset, Rainmaker attests that the headset handles sweat admirably thanks to breathable fabric and replaceable headbands. In response to that support document, he says: “It’s clear that Apple has actually considered sweat resistance quite a bit more than they’re letting on here.”
Though you should never use Apple Vision Pro whilst cycling outside, it seems like it’s genuinely a viable fitness accessory when used inside. It’ll just cost you a pretty penny.
