The AVP is an incredible device, but it's too restrictive and the 3D spectacle doesn't offset the myriad of issues that I've run into:
- If I want to watch movies, I'll typically do so with my wife, on my 4K smart TV. The AVP is not a shared experience unless you purchase an additional unit.
- The virtual display can't be used with arbitrary devices (e.g. PS5, PC, Raspberry PI) via direct HDMI, only over network streaming, which has latency/quality constraints.
- The passthrough quality is not good enough to do anything non-trivial.
- The native Vision Pro apps tend to be neutered compared to the MacOS equivalent.
- When flying, it's a bit too bulky to take as carry-on, unless you dedicate your entire backpack to it or carry by hand.
From a development standpoint, I found that the SDK was quite shallow and didn't provide as much hardware access as I would have liked– particularly the raw camera feed. Apparently there's now an enterprise program that unlocks access, but you have to jump through some hoops and get manually approved, which is too much friction. Additionally, the market is quite weak. I had my app get featured in the App Store a year ago and hardly made enough profit to justify further time investment.
If there was a Linux equivalent to the Vision Pro that didn't require a social media account, I'd be more receptive. The biggest issue across modern AR/VR devices is the tendency towards closed ecosystems and lack of integration with external devices. For now, my AVP is largely collecting dust on the shelf until I get bored on a random Sunday afternoon and decide to see what's new.
> The AVP is an incredible device
It's one of the most impressive feats of engineering that I've interacted with and yet mine sits in a drawer. If they'd produced ongoing immersive content, I'd keep watching it. I especially loved the dinosaur experiences. Oh well…
> When flying, it's a bit too bulky to take as carry-on, unless you dedicate your entire backpack to it or carry by hand.
Just wear it. I bet the cabin crew will love it!