Just posted on Six Colors: Eyes (and head) on with the Apple Vision Pro

https://sixcolors.com/post/2023/06/eyes-and-head-on-with-the-apple-vision-pro/

Eyes (and head) on with the Apple Vision Pro

Yes, I’ve worn it. One of the advantages of being present at Apple Park for WWDC 2023 was that I got to experience–after having my face measured and my eyeglasses scanned–the Apple Visi…

Six Colors
@jsnell Thanks for this! That means they scanned your glasses and then made those magnetic lenses for you right there based on that? I’ve been curious about what they said in the keynote about those magnetic lenses.
@forresttanaka they just scan them and choose from a preselected set of adapters, I assume. I don't think they're "making" anything
@jsnell @forresttanaka What about people who wear progressives — do they use just one of the prescriptions or both? And what about astigmatism?
@marinaepelman @forresttanaka no idea, but I have both and it worked fine 😉
@jsnell super fair assessment I’d say. Thanks for the even handedness.
@gedeonm Yeah, this is why Jason is very good for the Applesphere, he's not reactionary and he doesn't fly off the handle with hot takes. He's willing to accept things as they are and not try to fit them to a preconceived narrative. It's kind of a rare trait. @jsnell

@jsnell Appreciate that you go into detail on how UI interactions work.

I'm curious how well text selection works. Did you have a chance to try it?

@localhost @jsnell Likewise, and how do you type text, how does that work? Is it a virtual keyboard floating in space (given how much I love my clicky tactile keyboard this worries me), or do I still use a real KB attached that I can see through/via the Vision Pro? I need to be able to edit and create and not just consume content.
@meaden @localhost so @ChanceHMiller just wrote about this on 9to5
Here’s what it’s like typing with Vision Pro and visionOS - 9to5Mac

Following the announcement of Vision Pro at WWDC yesterday, Apple is providing more details about the headset itself and the...

9to5Mac
@ChanceHMiller @jsnell @localhost Thanks! I had literally just started reading it from my RSS feed when I got Jason’s toot. Exactly what I wanted to know. Keep up the great work on 9to5 BTW.
@meaden @jsnell @localhost appreciate it! thanks for reading :)
@jsnell great measured and sober take on it! your comments toward the end are my biggest question on this – I want to be able to share this experience with my partner when watching a film or some other activity in AR, but I didn’t see that demoed at all (that being said I don’t think we’re ready to drop $7k plus tax on a pair of Vision Pros quite yet anyhow!)
@jsnell Thanks for that detailed description of your hands-on, it sounds like Apple really have done everything they can to centre the experience on what will work for people, especially in what seems to be another thoughtful Apple UI. Not sure I get what the “must-have” part is yet though…
@jsnell thank you for posting your impressions. I was really looking forward to reading them. Now if I could only try it… might have to wait a very long time since I live in Canada.
@jsnell Great piece. It’s not every day you get to use the word “personae” 🤓
@jsnell Great work as always, sir. Can’t wait to try this thing.
@jsnell Re: forehead hurting, was this due to the pressure of the light seal? You mention loosening but imagine too loose means no complete seal.
@jsnell thanks for this first insight 😊

@jsnell > (Apple reps had already prepped my headset with lenses based on my glasses prescription, so I could see clearly without my glasses.)

Great review! Do you know anything about the process of swapping lenses? I wonder if it's cumbersome.

@cherrysandwich they suggested it's just a magnetic attach, so I would think it'll be easy, but I didn't see it
@jsnell that was really informative, thank you.
@jsnell Obviously I have not experienced it myself, but it does feel like, as impressive a technical achievement the Vision Pro is, it truly lacks an actual purpose. And, speaking as someone who is married and has 2 small children, sharing content and watching things together is a constant. Headsets like these close that off: you need 2 of them, at least…
@jsnell English is not my first language, but I think you missed a ‘big’ in “made a deal”? (That whole paragraph makes a great point by the way.)
@jsnell How similar was the eye tracking calibration to PSVR2? Continuously moving point or did it stop? Bright or dark background?
@jsnell Did you by any chance try drag and drop *inside* an app while using the vision pro? How do individual ipad apps work w/ multitouch? if you grip a window and start moving it, can you look at the grip of another window and select that with your other hand? I'm so psyched for this device but i feel like having to look at what you want to manipulate will limit potential multi-tasking..?
@jsnell you’re piece got me a little more excited. Still won’t be able to afford it though. Still, thanks for the insight!
@jsnell these are gonna sell like hotcakes
@jsnell
Thank you so much for writing a bunch of text I can read. My friends were forwarding around a bunch of "hands on" videos that were just people talking into the camera since no one could actually show the device, and I really just wanted something I could quickly read through.
@jsnell As amazing as the Vision Pro is, practically everyone is ignoring the ugly elephant in the room. You have LCD’s mere millimeters from the eye. One cannot stare at that for more than 30 minutes without causing damage. Does no one care about the health consequences?
@rishio I'd love to see your citations about the medical research into these devices. They've been making VR headsets for a while now, so if this were a catastrophic health threat there would be a lot of it, right?
@jsnell There is a lot of concerning things out there. I’m not sure if you are mocking me as a fool or if you really want to see the citations. I’m hoping some popular, intelligent journalists, like yourself, might inquire more about this aspect - that’s all.
@jsnell Here is another citation from  themselves.. Remember, the display for the Spatial Glasses are right in front of your eyes.
@rishio oh... maybe you're just using hyperbole to shame journalists about something that's not actually true? was it an ugly pink elephant?
@jsnell No, not shaming journalists. I like your piece! I love everything I’ve learned about this Spatial Interface UX and I’m genuinely interested in more talk about using LCDs close to the eye in headsets. I’ve been googling different websites on the topic, and I’m finding some consistent concerns with using it over 30 minutes.  has not addressed this at all and it would be great to have a discussion on it. Here’s an example: https://www.contactlenses.co.uk/education/virtual-reality-headsets-and-vision
Virtual Reality headsets and Vision

</p>How do Virtual Reality Headsets trick your eyes into thinking that the flat screen, which is just centimeters away, is a three dimensional reality with object meters, or even kilometers away? And how do your eyes react to being tricked this way? Read More</p>

@jsnell Apple themselves said a healthy eye needs to have variable focus in nature. The headset has a fixed lcd millimeters from the eye which contradicts that. Maybe that’s ok for short periods of use, but  is talking about watching 2 hour movies with it and using it all day. Don’t you think that warrants discussion? I’m not saying it’s bad for your eyes, I’d just like apple to give us more health data given it’s something so new and different..