One month using the Apple Vision Pro, is it $3000 better than the Quest 3? From watching movies, to playing games, to productivity, here’s my take on which headset comes out on top.
The Apple Vision Pro has had a lot of buzz, but after using it for a month, is it really worth its $3,500 price tag?
Here’s how the Vision Pro stacks up to the Meta Quest 3, focusing on gaming, entertainment, and everyday usability. As impressive as it can be, here’s why the Quest 3 might still be the better option for most users. If you’re stuck between these two headsets, this should help!
The Apple Vision Pro has had a lot of buzz, but after using it for a month, is it really worth its $3,500 price tag?
Here’s how the Vision Pro stacks up to the Meta Quest 3, focusing on gaming, entertainment, and everyday usability. As impressive as it can be, here’s why the Quest 3 might still be the better option for most users. If you’re stuck between these two headsets, this should help!
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TechTranscript
00:00Oh, weird.
00:01Like, I know these are my hands,
00:02but they don't quite look like my hands.
00:04This is so weird.
00:06Like, being in the spot, but not actually being there.
00:09I mean, this thing's incredible.
00:1210 months since it first released,
00:13I'm finally getting a chance to try out the Vision Pro.
00:16It had a lot of hype when it first launched,
00:17but it seems like everyone's already forgotten about it
00:19and moved on.
00:20So I wanted to see if that's for good reason.
00:23I started getting into VR with the first Oculus,
00:25and now I use the Quest 3 almost every day.
00:27But I wanted to see what Apple's take on VR was like,
00:30especially since it costs an extra three grand.
00:33So is it worth the extra cash?
00:34Then what do I do with this?
00:36Just loop there?
00:37One of the first things I have to get out of the way
00:39is that yes, the Vision Pro's field of view
00:41is more narrow compared to the Quest 3.
00:43How am I gonna get both field of views?
00:46Can I just put both on top?
00:49The Vision Pro's field of view is about 90 degrees,
00:51while the Quest 3 is around 106 degrees.
00:54I didn't notice this right away,
00:55but it wasn't that distracting
00:57or hard to get used to since you mostly focus
00:59on what's directly in front of you
01:01as opposed to the sides.
01:02A bigger change up though,
01:03and the real reason it's taken me so long
01:05to finally try this out,
01:06is that the Vision Pro requires optical inserts,
01:09and they technically can't be used with glasses.
01:12So there's another $100
01:14to get their official ZEISS prescription inserts,
01:16which itself is one third the cost
01:18of the brand new Quest 3S.
01:20It's also worth noting that it took me multiple attempts
01:23before my prescription was finally accepted,
01:25and my partner who also wants to try this out
01:27isn't even eligible because her prescription
01:29is so strong and needs a prism.
01:31Once I finally got the Vision Pro on,
01:37it was surprisingly easy to learn.
01:38Without traditional controllers,
01:39I was expecting the learning curve to be more difficult,
01:42but Apple has some really great tutorials
01:44that are super intuitive.
01:46In under five minutes,
01:46I had a really good grasp of how the eye
01:49and hand controls work,
01:50and I was off and running.
01:52This is so weird that I can just walk with my script.
01:56Apple obviously put in a lot of effort
01:57to make this learning process as frictionless as possible.
02:01So to put this to the test,
02:02I wanted to see how easily I can hand it off
02:05to one of my family members to try out for the first time.
02:08The intels aren't really the most tech-savvy folks
02:10that you'll meet,
02:11but with minimal help from me,
02:12they were able to figure things out
02:14and begin exploring things on their own.
02:17Wow, weird.
02:19What's weird?
02:19I don't know, it's just all dumb.
02:21Can you walk through the window?
02:23Is that the next part on there?
02:24Like I could be walking through the snow right now?
02:27Yeah.
02:27And even though, and I'll get into this,
02:29there are times where having a physical controller
02:31is necessary.
02:32This is a testament to how user-friendly
02:35just looking and clicking on what you want is.
02:38Does it feel real?
02:39Yeah, it does.
02:40The ease of learning the controls
02:42was consistent across the board.
02:44They all picked it up faster than I expected,
02:46and it made for some fun moments
02:47watching them interact with it for the first time,
02:50especially as they just reach out and look around.
02:52This is actually cool,
02:53and if it fully does it,
02:55you don't have to like,
02:56you don't just go.
02:57You can just go.
03:00Entertainment on the Vision Pro
03:02is also another big selling feature.
03:04When I was producing our first reviews for the Vision Pro,
03:07I was off camera hearing everyone rave
03:09about how incredible this was
03:10for watching movies and shows.
03:11I feel like I'm at like Soarin' at Epcot.
03:14It's like I can do a full 180 side to side.
03:17And I mean, they were right.
03:18The Vision Pro is definitely on a whole other level.
03:20It's got really polished apps
03:21for most of the big streaming services that you'd want,
03:24including Apple TV, of course,
03:26Disney+, HBO Max.
03:28The Quest 3, though, not so much.
03:30You either have to use a web browser
03:32or a third party app,
03:33which really isn't the best.
03:35In comparison, though,
03:36the Vision Pro makes it a lot easier
03:38and way more fun to find things to watch,
03:40not to mention it looks sharper.
03:42And getting to watch some of the latest big blockbusters
03:44like The Wolves on a screen this massive
03:47was incredible.
03:49And then on top of that,
03:50I have all these incredible environments
03:51to choose from to immerse myself,
03:53whether entirely or partially,
03:55to really dial in that experience.
03:58And even though there isn't a native YouTube app,
04:00watching it through Safari actually works pretty well too.
04:04And blowing up that content,
04:07to have it that sharp in these various environments
04:11is also super incredible.
04:13It's actually bigger than what I can see.
04:16I have to go from side to side to see everything.
04:21How is the hand tracking this good in low light?
04:25I mean, this thing's incredible.
04:26The screen I can create
04:28is twice as big as this home cinema.
04:32What about gaming?
04:33It's just a few games like Cut the Rope,
04:35Lego Builder's Journey, and Castle Crumble.
04:37Graphics?
04:38Absolutely better on the Vision Pro than the Quest 3.
04:41It's got more power under the hood, no doubt.
04:43And you can definitely tell
04:44because it has less pixelation
04:46and less anti-aliasing,
04:48but that doesn't tell the full story.
04:49Gaming on this?
04:50I quickly missed having physical controllers.
04:53The Quest 3, with its motion controllers,
04:54makes games feel way more immersive.
04:57You've got the tactile feedback,
04:58and even though the graphics aren't as nice,
05:01it just pulls you into the game a lot more.
05:04The Vision Pro, no controllers,
05:06and you start to feel that difference really quickly.
05:08Simple things like playing on the train or a plane
05:12became next to impossible without that precise control.
05:15Sure, you can pair a third-party controller
05:17like from an Xbox, but it lacks the motion,
05:19which really takes you out of the immersion.
05:22One of my favorite games, Walkabout Golf,
05:25not to be confused with What the Golf,
05:28isn't even available on the Vision Pro
05:30because it relies so heavily on these motion controllers.
05:33And then playing games where you're holding a bat or paddle
05:36feels a lot...
05:39And because of that, playing sports games
05:40with a bat or paddle feels a lot closer to the real thing.
05:44For most gamers, I think the Quest 3
05:46is going to be the better choice.
05:48But the biggest reason I was really excited
05:50to try out the Vision Pro was for its productivity,
05:54especially when it comes to writing
05:55or editing bigger video projects like this on the go.
05:59And for that, the Vision Pro absolutely slaps.
06:01Starting with how the Vision Pro
06:03connects to my MacBook is magical.
06:06You just look at it and boom,
06:08one click and you're in your desktop.
06:10Later this year, Vision OS 2 is going to support
06:13ultra-wide monitors, which is probably
06:14one of the biggest requested features.
06:17Although my Quest 3 with the Immersed app
06:19can already support multiple displays and resolutions,
06:22it often runs into slowdowns or random disconnects,
06:25which I've never experienced in here.
06:28The Vision Pro, more than this,
06:29feels like an actual extension of my Mac
06:32as opposed to just another tacked-on feature.
06:35But I have found one significant letdown,
06:38and that is there is no audio pass-through
06:41when you're connected here.
06:42And because of that, I either need to rely
06:44on my MacBook speakers or use an external pair
06:47of Bluetooth headphones like my AirPods Pro 2.
06:51It's an interesting setback that isn't too annoying,
06:54but I wouldn't be surprised if Apple was working
06:56on a way to implement this later this year.
06:59But moving past that,
07:00here's where Apple's ecosystem really shines.
07:02My iMessages sync seamlessly,
07:04Airplane and AirDrop work effortlessly,
07:07and even my Apple Photos are all right there,
07:09so I can sync all the content
07:11between my devices in seconds.
07:14From playing back spatial videos and photos
07:16from my last trip, which I shot on my iPhone,
07:18to automatically logging into my apps
07:20without entering passwords,
07:21or even just picking up on my last Safari search
07:23from my other logged-in devices,
07:25it's another way that the Vision Pro
07:27is just so easy to jump into.
07:31At the end of the day, the Vision Pro is impressive
07:34and worth experiencing if you can.
07:36But it's also still very niche,
07:37and like a lot of other people
07:38who've had the chance to try it out,
07:40after a few weeks, the magic of it just kind of wears off,
07:42and I found myself using it less and less every day.
07:45I already own the Quest 3,
07:47which can do most of what the Vision Pro does,
07:49but for a fraction of the cost,
07:51making it hard to justify.
07:53The Vision Pro does have better immersion and entertainment,
07:55but at the end of the day,
07:57is it worth the extra three grand?
07:59For most people, it's probably safe to say no,
08:01at least not yet.
08:02If Apple could bring the price down
08:04to maybe $1,000 and maybe make it lighter,
08:06I could definitely see myself accepting it
08:09for what it is in its current state,
08:10and using it far more often.
08:12And hey, if they ever can come up
08:13with motion controllers for gaming,
08:15that wouldn't hurt either.
08:17But for now, I think I'm sticking with the Quest 3.