I Tried Apple's Vision Pro 2 for a Week: The Good, Bad, and Weird

Why I Spent a Week Living in the Vision Pro 2

I'll be honest: when the original Apple Vision Pro launched in 2024, I thought it was a cool demo but not a real product. The price tag of $3,499, the weight on your face, and the fact that you couldn't do much beyond watching movies and pinning Safari windows made it a hard sell. Fast forward to June 2026, and Apple just dropped the Vision Pro 2 at $2,499 with a 30% weight reduction, a new M4 Ultra chip, and better battery life. I decided to give it a real shot—wearing it for at least 4 hours every day for a week. Here's my honest take.

The Good: What Actually Impressed Me

The first thing you notice is the weight. The original felt like strapping a brick to your face. The Vision Pro 2 is genuinely comfortable for long sessions. Apple switched to a magnesium frame and a softer light seal that doesn't dig into your cheeks. I wore it for three hours straight watching Dune: Part Three (which is incredible, by the way) and forgot I had it on.

The display is still the best in any headset. Two 4K micro-OLED panels with 120Hz refresh rates make text look like it's printed on paper. The passthrough cameras are now 48MP, so the AR experience is almost lifelike. I could read my phone's screen through the headset, which is a huge upgrade.

The new hand tracking is also vastly improved. You no longer have to hold your hands in front of your face like a weirdo. The sensors now track subtle finger movements even when your hands are resting on your lap. Typing on a virtual keyboard is still clumsy, but voice dictation works well.

The Bad: What Still Frustrates Me

The battery life is better—now about 3.5 hours with the included pack—but that's still not enough. You can buy a larger battery pack for $199 that adds 4 hours, but then you're carrying a brick in your pocket. The external battery pack is my biggest complaint. Why can't Apple just integrate it into the headband like Meta did with the Quest Pro 2?

The app selection is still limited. Yes, you can run iPad apps in a window, but they don't feel native. The killer apps are still missing. Netflix has an app, but it's just the iPad version scaled up. There's no native YouTube app—you have to use Safari. Apple's own apps like Safari, Messages, and Photos work great, but third-party support is lagging.

Another issue: the price. $2,499 is cheaper than before, but it's still a luxury item. For that money, you could buy a MacBook Air, an iPad Pro, and still have cash left over. The Vision Pro 2 is a device for early adopters and developers, not for normal people.

The Weird: Unexpected Moments

I used the Vision Pro 2 during a Zoom meeting with my team, and it was surreal. My colleagues appeared as life-size holograms in my living room. The eye tracking means the camera focuses on whoever you're looking at, so it feels like natural conversation. But here's the weird part: I forgot I was wearing a headset and tried to scratch my nose, which involves taking it off. Not a seamless experience.

I also tried the new spatial video recording. You can capture 180-degree 8K video with depth, and playing it back is genuinely emotional. I recorded my daughter blowing out birthday candles, and when I watched it in the headset, I teared up. That's the magic of this device. But is it worth $2,499 for that? I'm not sure.

Who Should Buy It?

If you're a developer, you need one. If you're a movie buff who wants a private IMAX theater, you'll love it. If you're a remote worker who spends hours in meetings, the spatial computing features are genuinely useful. But for most people, I'd say wait for the Vision Pro 3 or buy a Meta Quest Pro 2 for $699. The Quest does 90% of what the Vision Pro does at a fraction of the price. Apple's headset is a marvel of engineering, but it's still a niche product.

I'm keeping mine because I see the potential. But I won't pretend it's ready for everyone. Not yet.