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Using Vision Pro as a sole device for a week shows it can work for some

There’s no doubt that one of the things making that $3,500+ price tag hard to swallow is the fact that, for most people, a Vision Pro is an accessory, not a primary device. But what happens if you try to use Vision Pro as a primary device – indeed, as your only device?

That’s the question a new piece sets out to answer, and the experiment worked surprisingly well …

ArsTechnica senior editor Samuel Axon carried out the test.

I spent more than a week working almost exclusively in the Vision Pro. I carried on Slack conversations, dialed into Zoom video calls, edited Google Docs, wrote articles, and did everything else I do within my day-to-day responsibilities as an editor at Ars Technica.

Axon had previously tried the same thing with an iPad, and concluded that it didn’t work. Surprisingly, however, he found that this mostly did.

We must first ask whether you can actually get serious work done while wearing the Vision Pro. I think you can. If you can do your work on an iPad, you can do it on the Vision Pro—and I even feel that Vision Pro is more natural to use than an iPad for most productivity tasks […]

Unlike with the iPad, there was never any point when I felt I had to take it off and use another device to get something done.

He recognises that this isn’t true for everyone, as there are some Mac apps that don’t exist for Vision Pro, like Xcode and Final Cut Pro. He also acknowledges that he may be the ideal target market for the device.

I’ve found that the case is strongest for frequent travelers who want all the perks of home—a big-screen TV, an external monitor for a laptop, and so on—when they’re away. Its value for that user is crystal clear. I just so happen to fit that profile, but I don’t believe I’m representative of most users.

The biggest drawback he found was video meetings – where the use of what he describes as “uncanny valley 3D avatars” is not socially acceptable for business use.

Photo by Semeon Hrozian on Unsplash

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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