The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern reviews the Vision Pro, Apple's $3500 mixed reality headset. It is by far the best one going, she writes, though the price is high.
Every time I work with multiple windows around me, I feel like Tom Cruise in "Minority Report," ready to fight future crime—one school email at a time.
There is a built-in virtual keyboard so you can type in thin air. But it will drive you mad for anything longer than a short message. And selecting smaller buttons with a pinch should be a carnival game. I started getting real work done once I paired the Vision Pro with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
I leveled up again by connecting my MacBook Pro, which let me write this review on a giant virtual monitor hovering over my desk.
VR has always left me cold—the arcade games that used it gave me such bad headaches I still nope out at the sight of a headset. But I want one of these and don't think $3,500 is a high price for high-end kit. It's like buying a big OLED TV (a few years ago) or a hot tub or the upgraded trim in a car. All things people buy without a second thought, whether they can really afford it or not.
More reviews: The Verge ("magic, until it's not), CNET ("mindblowing"), CNBC ("The future of computing").
Previously: VR loses its V; a new visor will kill you
