The official photos and videos of the Vision Pro showed a sleek wearable device that looked like a set of premium ski goggles, with a band strapping around the back of the wearer’s head. The version I had a chance to wear added a second head strap for additional support and better balance. However, the Vision Pro is still in development, and demo sessions often feature incomplete hardware, so there may be differences between the public visuals and the final product. Virtual reality headsets are essentially big head-mounted computer-plus-monitor rigs, which are typically heavy and bulky.

Previous models have included a top strap as well as a behind-the-back strap to manage weight distribution. Apple has developed a second strap that goes over the wearer’s head to address the weight issue, although they are considering selling it as an extra accessory rather than including it in the box. This decision could potentially make the Vision Pro highly customizable with third-party accessories, but it also suggests that the product may be unfinished. Requiring additional accessories to be fully functional is a concern, as it could result in extra costs for early adopters.

However, it also offers the flexibility of choosing from various accessory makers instead of being limited to Apple. Overall, the issue of weight and accessory requirements remains a challenge for spatial/virtual/augmented/mixed reality hardware.