What It’s Like To Use Apple Vision Pro On A Plane

by Gary Leff

The Apple Vision Pro is the current thing. I don’t think this first version is revolutionary the way that the iPhone was. It seems like first generation tech, even though there have been similar early products before it. When Google Glass came out, I bought it and tried it. It wasn’t great, and I could only think of one thing it was for (you know what).

I don’t see people sitting at home watching movies with their family, each one wearing one of these. And the googles seem uncomfortable. It’s easy to fall into the trap of next big thing because it’s technology, at the same time as AI seems ready to change the world. It does seem quiet experiential, though.

What it might really change is air travel, or at least how we enjoy air travel. No more tiny screens. No more need for screens at all, that the passenger in the row in front of you might crush when they recline their seat.

You don’t need to cover your screen or use a shield so nobody else sees your work. And, reports are, nobody looks at you like you’re weird wearing it. Maybe we have the pandemic to thank for that, with masks not only worn for but awhile mandatory.

American Airlines made a bet in 2017 with their new domestic interior that they didn’t need to install seat back entertainment screens. It was just barely too early to broadcast wireless to seats, cutting the cost of these installs by two-thirds. And it was a little too early for their claim that the screens were unnecessary, because everyone has their own device already anyway.

Sure most people have phones, but not necessarily children. Many people like watching something and fiddling on their phones at the same time. American’s thesis was about cutting costs that months later didn’t need to be cut, which is why Delta and even later United doubled down on screens. And it was about passenger behavior that just needed to wait for Tim Cook, maybe?

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Honestly, the number one benefit is literally the ability to watch a movie without just holding your phone for a few hours, on airplanes without a phone holder. And even then, I feel there are products that are way smaller than a vision pro.

  3. My single use case is… watering the garden while I’m on conference calls. Too far a distance to travel leaving my laptop in one spot, and I certainly can’t bring it with me. A computer strapped to my face is totally doable, though.

    Is that worth $3,500? Not for most folks, myself included. But, I can see the utility, and I would like one, just not at that price.

  4. Question: can these things adjust the focal point of the HUD info?

    I ask, as I had ski goggles that had HUD info displayed (speed
    , altitude, location on trail map, etc).

    I ended up selling them. I wear reading glasses (1.5x) and when wearing the goggles I needed to pull the goggles away from my face to get a good focal point.

    So, unless this toy from Apple can’t do that, then I pass.

  5. @Zebraitis … you nailed it with the word “toy” . I would merely add “dumb toy” . Also , which is better for skiing ? Normal vision or distorted vision ?

  6. Seems pretty useful and cool! Will be looking forward to economies of scale driving the prices down.

  7. In laughing at the idiot still wearing a face shield like he’s still afraid of the covid scamdemic.

  10. Airfares,

    The nexus of sex and technology has a long history of selling* each other — and being determinative at times in whether a technology gets wider retail consumer adoption or not and where it goes from there.

    * Given the world population has come close to doubling since Señor Leff was born, we can assume sex is a seller in more than the VR world.

  11. With such a short battery life (Up to 2 hours of general use and a maximum stated video watching life of up to 2.5 hours) it’s not robust enough yet for those long-haul flights business and serious travelers require.

    I guess you can wire it up to a USB port or battery backup but that kind of defeats the wireless appeal.

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