Thousands of people lined up outside Apple Stores on Feb. 2 to see the Vision Pro’s stunning debut, but dissatisfied customers are returning their headsets this week. Why? Apple’s 14-day return period expires on Feb. 16 for day one Vision Pro users. It looks like these bros kept their receipts, from Apple, and are making sure everyone on X understands their plight.
“I am returning my Vision Pro,” wrote one X user, followed by a 775-word essay on why they’re giving up Apple’s first headset.
“What a bummer of a day. Can’t believe it, but I’ve returned the Vision Pro,” said a tweet from a user back at the Apple Store.
“Goodbye, Vision Pro,” said yet another X user, with a sad picture of their headset back in its original box. “The era of spatial computing is very much not here yet.”
Google trends show that searches for “Return Apple Vision” have erupted in the last week, as many initial owners are hoping to get their $3,500 back. The Vision Pro was one of the most hyped product launches of the last decade, with Sam Altman calling it “the second most impressive tech since the iPhone.” However, it seems many users are not finding their initial investment worthwhile, or maybe they were just looking for a test run to begin with.
Apple’s Vision Pro seems to be too expensive, headache-inducing, and face-hurting according to tweets from dissatisfied users, much like Gizmodo’s Kyle Barr found. While the Vision Pro is beautiful and impressive in many ways, it may take Apple a few more generations to really knock spatial computing out of the park.
Vision Bros are sharing tragic personal stories about returning their $4,000 toy as if they just lost their job. But there is a kernel of truth in these tweets. Apple’s Vision Pro has been a huge disappointment to many users, hoping the expensive headset would be an “iPhone moment” for the AR/VR world.
The Vision Pro is no iPhone, at least, not yet. Although, even the iPhone had an initial wave of disappointment when it first came out. “Why the iPhone Will Fail” argued a 2007 headline from AdAge. It was hardly the only critique of the revolutionary technology at the time.
Another critique of the Vision Pro is that the low number of apps available for the product yields very practical few use cases. Netflix did not release a Vision Pro app, and co-CEO Greg Peters said his streaming service would take a “wait and see” approach. There hasn’t exactly been a huge vote of confidence from app developers with the Vision Pro.
We don’t know exactly how many people have returned their Vision Pros. Luckily, people feel the need to write lengthy Twitter threads letting us know when they do head back to the store, receipt in hand. Apple has a long way to go before it can convince people to replace their iPads with their new headset.