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Ask HN: Did you pre-order an Apple Vision Pro?

16 points by igammarays ↗ HN
I have never been this excited for a tech product in my life, and I am not a gamer or content producer, just a programmer. I'm usually a late-adopter when it comes to new gadgets, but this time I pre-ordered. I don't think I have ever pre-ordered a gadget before, ever. Anyone from HN feel the same?

I travel a LOT, so:

* I plan to make portable my entire 4 external monitor home office setup with a Mac Virtual Display + visionOS apps (mostly just Safari tabs or iPad apps), at least while travelling.

* Home theatre experience on the go is a big plus for me.

* Immersive focused environment for writing notes, planning, studying Anki cards, or other "focused" tasks also seems like a huge deal to me. I really focus better in immersive environments, which is why I often go to cafe's, parks, or someplace with a nice view to write and think. Now it looks like I can get that experience anywhere.

* Ability to put apps on my walls around the house and walk around while planning, thinking, and sketching would be a game changer. I love walking and thinking.

10 comments

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PaulHoule
No, I "thought differently" and got a Meta Quest 3 a few months ago.
igammarays
Just for gaming or for work too?
PaulHoule
I’ve had a series of art projects that were always asking to have their own virtual worlds. When I heard about Apple Vision Pro I got excited about being able to deploy this kind of application. My Mac Mini burned out and Ithought about replacing it with an M2 so I could use Apple’s proprietary dev tools but then I thought it would make more sense to get real MR/VR hardware.

I got a Hololens 1 off Ebay which was not too expensive but the software availability is just about zero and I never really built a stack to develop for it.

I am not a Facebook fan but I heard really good things about the MQ3 (costs 1/7 of the Apple vision) and I can say I am impressed. It supports ‘immersed’ and some other applications to put virtual screens in your space, I have used immersed a bit but I am still thinking of getting a fancy monitor for my workstation (can’t make up my mind if I want high refresh rate or a very wide color gamut) and putting the old monitor up in my media room/VR lab instead of using virtual screens.

I have been developing virtual worlds using A-frame which is basically web development, the server reloads when I update the files so my workflow so far has been “edit on the computer, put on the headset to view” and it is slick because by the time I put the headset on the page has been reloaded.

I have a bunch of GLTF models of Mars captured by the Pathfinder rover and processed by a PhD student, I’ve gotten one to view on the MQ3 but I think the rest are too big. I have a cable to plug in the MQ3 to a computer that makes it work as a PCVR headset, this weekend I plan to see if the models will load when my computer is running the WebXR browser.

With A-Frame you can make worlds viewable in a desktop or mobile browser as well as a headset, my understanding is that the AVP also supports WebXR. I think portability of other apps should be possible because I’ve seen people use Unity for everything from Magic Leap to PCVR.

As for games I have done a lot of that. I haven’t touched any other games since Asgard’s Wrath 2 came out. Angry Birds VR is also great. I am also impressed with fitness apps like Supernatural and all sorts of “game-adjacent” apps which I would liken to theme park rides. For instance I had a great time seeing overtouristed places in Paris with panographic photos. Probably the next bit of photo gear I get will be a pano camera. As it is I use it to view pics I take with my QuoCam Ego which makes a difference because before this the only way I had to view stereo was to make red-green anaglyphs, now I can know if an image is failing as an anglyph because the stereo is bad or if it is an anaglyph problem. It views stereo movies too and I think it is great that Apple is promoting this.

If a customer comes around looking for an AVP app I will probably invest in an AVP and a new Mac but until then I am having fun with my MQ3.

Art9681
I'll play along. If the comments on any forum regarding the Vision Pro are anything to go by, you're part of the herd of sheep in this case. Most comments are people making themselves feel better about not having expendable money for what is obviously a luxury purchase. That is what it is isn't it? If you had ~4k to burn like many people around the world do, wouldnt you? Stop. You're thinking about all of the other things you could do with that money. I get it. But assume for a moment that a lot of people that bought the headset also have FU money to do those other things. Their 401k's are stocked and their biggest problem is finding a place to park their money to beat inflation.

Any responsible individual who bought a Vision Pro also has the expendable money to purchase the Quest 3. Many who did already own one.

From that perspective, you're the one with a lower societal status. (remember, this is just a game). Does it matter to you? It's a rhetorical question since you answered it with your previous post. Have a nice day. :)

terhechte
I live in Europe so I couldn’t. But I would have.
igammarays
I am actually travelling to the US just to get this. I live in Europe too.
mikequinlan
I didn't buy the first generation iPhone (or even the 2nd generation); I bought the 2nd generation iPad and waited until the 4th generation for the watch. I am waiting to see what the next iteration brings.

I think that people hoping the next generation will be cheaper are going to be disappointed, but I expect the hardware and software to be a huge improvement over this first cut.

jmann99999
I bought it, too, and am excited. I woke up at 4:50 AM PT to make sure I got it on Feb 2.

I was on the fence, honestly. It's a crapload of money. The battery life is worse than a Gateway Laptop. There is no killer app.

That said, my first stupid purchase was telephony equipment in the early 90s to make something like Asterisk. Then I bought a $1500 ReplayTV. It should have beaten out TiVo but didn't. Then I bought Google Glass. Some would say that $1,500 was wasted money. My life is littered with stupid purchases...

But somehow, I have got to a place where I am doing OK in life.

So, why not take the next plunge. Who knows... this device could be the inspiration for the NEXT BIG THING, or (more likely) it will contribute, and I will have more tech insight than I had before.

I hope we both enjoy it.

tatrajim
I pre-ordered one. My interest lies in the potential to create and view deeply immersive videos, likely mediated through AI, that bring to life passages from a fifteenth-century Korean text I have always loved. This has long been a fantasy of mine, and the pieces of technology to facilitate it are appearing now, one by one. The Apple Vision Pro in its future incarnations will likely be a major part of my project.