Vision Pro looks like it’s going to be really, really cool — for almost everyone. I say almost everyone because there is a (quite large) contingent of users that are going to struggle with the device straight out of the box, and they account for nearly 64% of the US population.
Glasses wearers.
The CEO of Apple wears glasses, for goodness sake — so you would have thought that there would be an option for glasses wearers that doesn’t cost them an extra chunk of cash on top of the already massive price of the headset itself.
Now, however, we’ve learned the true price of the Zeiss optic lenses for both prescription wearers and more ‘casual’ wearers — and while they could’ve been a whole lot more expensive, they’re by no means cheap.
Sorry glasses wearers, you’ll have to pay more than everyone else
So there are two options for glasses wearers — the prescription option, which is going to cost $149, and the reading option which will set you back $99. Now, it’s worth noting that those aren’t as much as they could’ve been, with concerns that they’d be multiple hundreds of dollars.
It does feel cheeky, if nothing else, that there isn’t some kind of included lens option for people that need it. If you can’t wear your glasses in the thing, as it would appear, then you would have thought a built-in system that can be configured on purchase would have been the way to go.
Gerald Lynch
“Having bought insert lenses for the Meta Quest 2 previously, I was concerned that glasses wearers like myself were going to have to yet again foot a hefty bill for prescription add-ons for Vision Pro. Given the expense of the main unit, and the fact that Apple has partnered with the premium ZEISS brand for the accessory had me crying dollar-shaped tears, assuming that the prescription cost would scale in line with the overall cost of the headset. But, though still a frustrating additional fee that I’d hoped Apple would absorb with the Vision Pro price tag itself, the ZEISS insert cost is roughly the same as I’ve seen for similar inserts for much cheaper VR headsets, which is a relief. Here’s hoping those with more complex prescriptions aren’t expected to pay more in line with the complexities of their needs, though.”
Unfortunately, that’s not the way that Apple has set it up, instead opting for a separate purchase. Undoubtedly those lenses are going to be high quality, and they click into place with magnets for that effortless simplicity we’ve come to expect — but glasses wearers can, and likely will, feel slightly hard done by.
Vision Pro is coming out February 2, and preorders open January 19 — and, at one point to the lenses, you won’t have to wait for them to come out afterward. They’re launching alongside the headset.
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Vision Pro looks like it’s going to be really, really cool — for almost everyone. I say almost everyone because there is a (quite large) contingent of users that are going to struggle with the device straight out of the box, and they account for nearly 64% of the US population.
Glasses wearers.
The CEO of Apple wears glasses, for goodness sake — so you would have thought that there would be an option for glasses wearers that doesn’t cost them an extra chunk of cash on top of the already massive price of the headset itself.
Now, however, we’ve learned the true price of the Zeiss optic lenses for both prescription wearers and more ‘casual’ wearers — and while they could’ve been a whole lot more expensive, they’re by no means cheap.
Sorry glasses wearers, you’ll have to pay more than everyone else
So there are two options for glasses wearers — the prescription option, which is going to cost $149, and the reading option which will set you back $99. Now, it’s worth noting that those aren’t as much as they could’ve been, with concerns that they’d be multiple hundreds of dollars.
It does feel cheeky, if nothing else, that there isn’t some kind of included lens option for people that need it. If you can’t wear your glasses in the thing, as it would appear, then you would have thought a built-in system that can be configured on purchase would have been the way to go.
Gerald Lynch
“Having bought insert lenses for the Meta Quest 2 previously, I was concerned that glasses wearers like myself were going to have to yet again foot a hefty bill for prescription add-ons for Vision Pro. Given the expense of the main unit, and the fact that Apple has partnered with the premium ZEISS brand for the accessory had me crying dollar-shaped tears, assuming that the prescription cost would scale in line with the overall cost of the headset. But, though still a frustrating additional fee that I’d hoped Apple would absorb with the Vision Pro price tag itself, the ZEISS insert cost is roughly the same as I’ve seen for similar inserts for much cheaper VR headsets, which is a relief. Here’s hoping those with more complex prescriptions aren’t expected to pay more in line with the complexities of their needs, though.”
Unfortunately, that’s not the way that Apple has set it up, instead opting for a separate purchase. Undoubtedly those lenses are going to be high quality, and they click into place with magnets for that effortless simplicity we’ve come to expect — but glasses wearers can, and likely will, feel slightly hard done by.
Vision Pro is coming out February 2, and preorders open January 19 — and, at one point to the lenses, you won’t have to wait for them to come out afterward. They’re launching alongside the headset.