There’s no doubt: the biggest announcement of WWDC 2023 was Apple’s new Vision Pro headset. It’s not just an augmented reality (AR) headset, according to Apple, but a whole new computing platform. Sounds exciting, as long as you’re willing to fork over the $3,500 Apple is asking for the device.
It’s a crazy price, but if you ask Apple, it’s actually a pretty good deal. The company says it comes with a new state-of-the-art TV, surround sound system, powerful computer with multiple HD displays, high-end camera and more. We’ve done the math to see if Apple’s claims hold water.
A $250 surround sound system
I won’t be generous with Apple here. A surround system could easily cost two or three times as much as the Vision Pro alone, and while we don’t know what the Vision Pro sounds like right now, I bet it won’t sound like the Klipschs The Nines or the SVS Prime Wireless Pro speakers. The claim here is about Apple’s spatial audio, which you can find on third-generation AirPods.
I’m adding a little more to the cost with the AirPods Pro, assuming the Vision Pro has better audio quality than you’ll find on the standard AirPods. It’s worth noting that the Vision Pro doesn’t include any in-ear audio, there are speakers on the headset itself. But if you want to watch a movie or listen to music with Spatial Audio, which is what Vision Pro offers, you can do it with AirPods Pro.
A powerful $1,100 computer
We can draw a fairly clear line between the Vision Pro and a similarly powered computer. The headset is powered by Apple’s M2 processor, and since the headset doesn’t include a fan, the closest product is Apple’s MacBook Air M2.
This one actually does double duty considering it has one of the best laptop displays you can buy. Next I’ll get to the new cutting-edge TV part, but the MacBook Air M2 satisfies most of what the Vision Pro can do, and almost everything it can do when combined with a few accessories.
In addition, the MacBook Air M2 offers all the apps and productivity support that Vision Pro promises. We don’t really need to add an iPhone, Apple Watch, or iPad to the stack because you can use those apps on a MacBook Air, with a few exceptions that probably won’t be supported on the Vision Pro either.
A new $1,300 state-of-the-art TV
What does Apple mean by cutting-edge TV? An OLED TV. I’m going with LG’s 55-inch C2 OLED, which is one of the highest-rated OLED TVs we’ve reviewed. Price can vary quite a bit here, though, and this is where the Vision Pro starts to look a lot more impressive.
The 55-inch model is fine for most people, but you can save some money with a 42-inch model or spend exponentially more on the 77-inch one. Vision Pro doesn’t let you choose, allowing you to resize the screen in the headset, as well as overlay it with other apps or ignore the background for an immersive experience. Apple says you can make screens up to 100 feet wide.
LG’s 97-inch G2 OLED TV costs $25,000. Not to mention, the Vision Pro supports 3D content, a trend that went out of fashion in the TV world years ago. I’m adding $1,300 to the total for the purposes of this thought experiment, but it’s worth keeping in mind that the Vision Pro offers far more than what a standard OLED TV can offer.
A $1,000 high-end camera
There’s nothing like the Vision Pro headset in the camera world. For now, I’m noting an iPhone 14 Pro as the closest thing to what we can probably expect in terms of image quality. I suspect Vision Pro will be closer to that of something you’d get from a DSLR. This is quite generous even for the Vision Pro, basically I’m adding the cost of a new iPhone As soon asfor the camera and ignoring everything you can do with it.
However, there is one very important aspect of Vision Pro that virtually no device can explain. It is capable of taking spatial photos and videos, allowing you to capture and play 3D content from your device. For that, you would not only need a 3D camera, which is quite hard to find, but also a display capable of showing 3D images. Again, this would go well above the Vision Pro’s price alone, but we need to see what the Vision Pro is actually capable of with 3D content before making that judgement.
Is the Vision Pro worth $3,500?
Adding up Apple’s list, we come to a grand total of $3,650, which is surprisingly close to the price Apple is asking for the Vision Pro. There are a couple of very important differences here, though. For starters, Vision Pro is an AR headset. You can add up the price of all these different products, but the Vision Pro also appears to offer the productivity and entertainment experiences of something like the Meta Quest Pro, a device that, alone, costs $1,500.
There are several areas where Vision Pro is completely unique as well. Spatial photos and videos are among them, but the Vision Pro can also scan your face to create a virtual avatar, render 3D objects you can interact with, track hands and eyes without external controllers, and deliver more than a 4K TV. of pixels aeach eye.
It’s safe to say that the Vision Pro is worth it, not only when you look at the technology inside, but also what it’s capable of. When you add up everything it does, $3,500 doesn’t sound expensive, it feels like a steal.
But then there is the other side of the coin. Sure, we can run a thought experiment on the $3,500 Vision Pro’s worth, but are all these little extras really worth thousands of dollars by leaving your pocket and going to Apples? That’s a different question and one that we won’t have a clear answer to until early next year when Vision Pro actually comes out.
My guess is that if you weren’t sold on something like the Meta Quest Pro, the Apple Vision Pro isn’t going to change much for you. It certainly has some major innovations, but this is still a prohibitively expensive product that needs to grow a lot before it’s ready for the mainstream. You can start saving your money now, but I bet it won’t be worth jumping to the Vision Pro for a few generations.
One thing is still certain, though. Apple clearly understands the shortcomings of AR right now, and Vision Pro appears to be dismantling the issues with the technology piece by piece. It’s insanely expensive, and it’s only for a select few early adopters. But from what we know right now, that group will likely be very happy.
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