Apple’s Vision Pro was supposed to be the future of wearable tech, but it hasn’t lived up to the hype. A high price and bulky design make it more of a luxury gadget than a must-have.
Sure, it has great displays and cool tracking features, but after the excitement wears off, most people will eventually go back to using their MacBooks or iPads.
That’s why the rumoured Apple smart glasses are much more exciting to me. Or, at least, if Mark Gurman‘s report about Apple currently working on a version of visionOS designed for AR smart glasses materialises into a final product.
Foundry
Yes, they’re likely still a few years away, but they would be much more practical. Unlike the Vision Pro, smart glasses can better fit into daily life, giving you real-time info without strapping a screen to your face.
Battery life is another problem. The Vision Pro’s battery lasts only about two hours, while smart glasses could last all day. Besides, who even came up with the idea of keeping a battery permanently attached to the goggles via a cable in your pocket?
It brings back memories of before MagSafe, when every accidental pull of the cable made a MacBook fly to the other end of the room.
Samsung’s Project Moohan headset can at least detach from the original battery and use another USB-C power bank, but I’m still not a fan of this solution.
Samsung
The biggest issue with the Vision Pro, however, is how isolating it is. It’s great for watching movies, but doesn’t have enough useful social or work-related features to tempt people away from their laptops or PCs.
Smart glasses, on the other hand, can show directions, notifications, and useful overlays while letting you stay connected to the real world. Also, managing apps on the Vision Pro feels clunky, whereas smart glasses could offer a more natural, glance-based interface.
Apple’s move into spatial computing is indeed exciting, but the Vision Pro feels like a stepping stone rather than the final goal. On the other hand, smart glasses could be the real breakthrough, given they could be lightweight, practical, and seamlessly integrated into everyday life.
We may have to wait a few years, but Apple’s smart glasses could make a real splash when they arrive.
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