The top reasons people return Vision Pro headsets are comfort, headaches, and eye strain.
For some Apple Vision Pro buyers, the honeymoon is already over.
It’s no coincidence that in recent days more Vision Pro owners have said on social media that they’re returning their $3,500 headset. Apple allows you to return any product within 14 days of purchase. As far as the first wave of Vision Pro buyers is concerned, we’re zeroing in on this.
Convenience is one of the most commonly cited reasons for returns. Headsets are said to cause headaches and cause motion sickness. Another point of criticism was the weight of the devices and the fact that most were front-loading. Parker Ortolani, a product manager for The Verge, said he believes using the device caused a blood vessel in his eye to burst. At least one other person reported having a similar experience with redness. (To be fair, VR headset users have been reporting dry eyes and red eyes for years.)
“The comfort was great, as expected, but the weight and the strap design made it too uncomfortable to wear even for short periods of time. I wanted to use it, but I was scared to wear it,” says Ortolani. He also posted about returning the device.
“It’s so expensive and bothersome that I can’t even get used to the constant headaches and eye strain. I’ll be back next time.”
That’s not surprising. Every human body is different, which poses challenges when scaling up production of wearable devices for the mass market. Convenience will inevitably be lost and people will be disproportionately affected. When it comes to smartwatches, it often comes down to the size and weight of the case compared to your wrist. For smart rings, it will be the size of your finger. Unfortunately, many people are in between sizes and have problems with swollen fingers. If you use data glasses or a headset, a low nose bridge can cause the device to slide off your face or not block enough light.
But the problem isn’t just hardware. Another common criticism is that the Vision Pro doesn’t offer enough productivity for its price. One user pointed out in the thread that not only does looking at Figma’s screen make him feel dizzy, but the device isn’t suitable for his work. Another engineer wrote on the social media platform
, “If you don’t use it for productivity, if you don’t love it for entertainment, and there aren’t enough games to play, then you can justify continuing to use it.” You can’t,” one Reddit user wrote.
For Carter Gibson, senior manager of community management and moderation at Google, it’s the details. Operating Windows and managing files can be a hindrance to productivity.
“Multitasking across ‘windows’ is difficult,” Gibson told me in a conversation on the thread. “Some file formats aren’t supported in Vision Pro, and I can’t imagine creating slides in VP would require less effort than creating them with a mouse and keyboard. Even if you’re a minority Even if it feels like you’re in a report.”
It’s hard to say how this would work. Early adopters will influence Vision Pro in the future. Many of those who said they would return their device also said they would like to try the second-generation Vision Pro. Some emphasized that the issue wasn’t technology, but killer apps and a lack of convenience. It is also difficult to say how widespread this phenomenon is. These users are speaking out on social media, but we don’t know what the actual response rate is or what his internal Apple expectations are for Vision Pro.
