Apple's Vision Pro launched to a chorus of "who is this for?" and a resounding "not me." Six months later, the app library is quietly becoming the most interesting thing in tech, and your wallet should be nervous.
Watching movies on a screen the size of a billboard while your laundry piles up.
Streaming apps have gone all-in on immersive theaters, and reviewers keep admitting the solo movie experience beats their actual living room.
That's a weird flex for a device that looks like ski goggles.
Virtual monitors that float in your kitchen, spreadsheets you can physically walk around, and a Slack window that follows you to the fridge.
Remote workers are posting setups that look like a sci-fi movie, and honestly, some of them are legitimately jealous-making.
Native titles are still thin, but spatial games that use your actual room as the level are getting buzz.
One indie darling turns your living room into a haunted house, which is either genius or a great way to never sleep again.
The app store's real growth is in weird little utilities.
Meditation apps that put a forest around you.
Fitness apps that count reps while you flail.
Even a few cooking apps that float a recipe next to the stove so you stop smearing your phone with garlic.
Most of these experiences are cool for about eleven minutes.
The novelty fades, the headset gets heavy, and you go back to your phone.
Early adopters are already offloading lightly used units on resale sites, which tells you plenty.
Apple's betting developers figure out the magic formula before the returns window on hype closes.
Right now it's a $3,500 movie theater with a productivity side hustle.
That's not nothing, but it's not the future either.
If you own one, you're basically a beta tester paying full price.
If you don't, wait a year and see which apps survive.
The ones that stick will tell you whether this thing deserves a spot on your face.
The Vision Pro isn't a flop, it's a demo reel.
A very expensive, very impressive demo reel that occasionally lets you watch Netflix on the moon.
Final Thoughts
Whether that's worth the price of a used car is a question only your credit card can answer.