Remember when Apple strapped a ski goggles-shaped computer to our faces and everyone nodded solemnly like it wasn't completely unhinged?
The Vision Pro launched to glowing reviews from people who get paid to be excited, then quietly became the world's most expensive Netflix screen.
Well, apparently somebody at Apple read the room, because the app situation is finally getting interesting.
The headset's been out long enough that early adopters have cycled through the five stages of grief.
Then you realized you can't wear it for more than an hour without your forehead filing a complaint.
Then came acceptance: it's a dev kit with a really nice display, and you paid retail for the privilege.
Now the actual apps are showing up, and some of them are the kind of thing that makes you go "okay, that's genuinely cool" instead of "please take this off my face, I have a headache." We're seeing spatial versions of the stuff you'd expect — 3D movies, immersive sports clips, virtual monitors for people who work on laptops and want to feel like Tony Stark.
There's also the weird experimental stuff, which is where things get fun.
Think meditation apps that drop you into a forest that doesn't exist, and productivity tools that let you pin sticky notes to the actual air around you like a maniac.
The productivity angle is the one Apple keeps pushing, mostly because "it replaces your monitors" is an easier sell than "it's a headset." And honestly?
Virtual displays are legitimately the strongest feature.
Compressed to a single screen on a Mac, the whole thing feels like a party trick.
Open up a few floating windows and suddenly you get why someone might drop four figures on this.
But here's the thing nobody wants to admit: the Vision Pro still costs more than a used car, and most of these apps have free or cheap counterparts that run on the phone already in your pocket.
The killer app, the one that makes the price feel reasonable, remains stubbornly missing.
Apple's betting that developers will find it eventually.
Developers are betting that enough people buy the thing for it to be worth their time.
Somebody's going to lose that staring contest.
The app catalog is growing, though, and that matters more than any single title.
Platforms die when nobody builds for them.
The Vision Pro is at least past that stage.
Whether it ever escapes "expensive curiosity" territory is a different question, and Apple's not answering it with a firmware update.
Our take: if you already own one, the new wave of spatial apps is the best reason yet to actually use it instead of leaving it in the box next to your Peloton.
If you don't own one, nothing here justifies the price — yet.
Wait for the cheaper model, or wait for the killer app, or just wait.
Final Thoughts
The goggles aren't going anywhere, and neither is the sticker shock.