A vlogger has gone beyond the ever-growing plethora of Apple Vision Pro unboxings and/or walkthroughs to reveal that the ~$3,500 headset is a surprisingly high drop risk. Then again, if it does fall, it might stand a good enough chance of survival – provided the user doesn’t care about quite all its functional or structural integrity.
AppleTrack’s Sam Kohl is one of many influencers who bought the Vision Pro so you might continue not to think about doing so. Apple’s inaugural mixed reality headset – oh, sorry, “spatial computer” – comes with a price-tag that might be considered as heavy as it is said to be to wear, and may thus be a device to try and keep as mint as possible for as long as possible.
That goal, as Kohl comes to realize in this new video, proves tougher than one might think. It is apparently very easy to smack the front of the markedly protuberant first-gen visor off cupboards, walls and other surfaces while wearing it, as Apple only programs it to issue proximity warnings in full VR (or “immersive” modes.
On the other hand, Kohl claims that it took about 20 of these experimental impacts (hopefully followed by an HIA) to even scuff the Vision Pro’s front glass, possibly due to its curvature. Then again, that shape may cause it to distribute the force of a fall to other, equally important parts of the headset such as the speakers, one of which stopped working after 3 or 4 drops.
The Vision Pro did crack on impact eventually, albeit after a total of 8 drops, the last of which was from well over 6 feet (~1 meter). Nevertheless, even that was not enough to do any damage to its internal dual screens or cameras, as the glass cover was the only other part to break during the clip, peeling off from the front in 1 piece and with relatively little effort, despite its completely shattered state.
All in all, the Vision Pro may not quite match devices such as the iPhone 15 Pro Max or Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, yet may be rendered less than fragile thanks to its high-end construction. Then again, as casually grabbing it by the light-seal is now not advised due to its apparently inadequate magnetic attachment to the rest of the headset, it might be easier to drop than one might think.
All the same, as the Cupertino giant indicates it might charge up to $2,399 for certain headset repairs without AppleCare+, it might be best not to test this new theory out with one’s own super-expensive foray into early visionOS adoption…and also to consider getting a protective case like this one on Amazon.
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Deirdre O Donnell – Senior Tech Writer – 7117 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2018
I became a professional writer and editor shortly after graduation. My degrees are in biomedical sciences; however, they led to some experience in the biotech area, which convinced me of its potential to revolutionize our health, environment and lives in general. This developed into an all-consuming interest in more aspects of tech over time: I can never write enough on the latest electronics, gadgets and innovations. My other interests include imaging, astronomy, and streaming all the things. Oh, and coffee.
Deirdre O’Donnell, 2024-02- 3 (Update: 2024-02- 3)
