After its debut at WWDC 2023, the Apple Vision Pro has taken the world by storm. Broadly speaking, people seem to be sat in one of two camps – "good grief, that is absolutely amazing", or "good grief, that is ludicrously expensive."
I can see why, on both counts. Let's get the elephant in the room addressed early – a Vision Pro headset will set you back $3,499. That's no small change and certainly will prove a stretch too far for most in the current economic climate.
But Apple also delivered an experience that far outstrips the many other VR headsets on the market. This isn't just about gaming, or working, or living – it's all three fused seamlessly into one unit.
On an episode of Good Morning America after the event, Apple CEO Tim Cook showed off the device on air. During the interview, Cook remarked that the headset was "good value" prompting widespread commentary online.
But I think he's right. Let's break it down a little. The headset looks capable of doing pretty much anything you could do on a MacBook – at least once you've got used to controlling everything with your eyes. Right now, on the Apple website, a base model 16-inch MacBook Pro will set you back £2,699/$2,499. We're already a big chunk of the way there.
Add in an Apple Studio Display for some of that high-resolution display goodness, and we've blown straight past the asking price of the Vision Pro. Even if you factor in a Magic Keyboard and Trackpad to enhance the headset experience, we aren't spending more.
That's before we even stop to consider the additional possibilities of the headset over the computer setup. Those will become clearer over time, but the additional portability and the immersive virtual backdrops seem like features which would be incredibly helpful already.
The point I'm trying to make is that, yes, this is expensive – particularly if you're comparing it to VR headsets. That's not what this is though. This is a high performance computing system you wear on your face. And when you put it into that context, the price is a lot easier to swallow.
