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