Wall Street Journal Reporter’s Experience with Vision Pro One Month Later: The Novelty Has Worn Off, Hard to Avoid Gathering Dust

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On March 4, Joanna Stern, a renowned technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, shared her experience of using Apple’s newly launched spatial computing device, Vision Pro, for a month, stating that she found herself using it less frequently over time and would not purchase it for personal use.

In an interview with CNBC, Stern mentioned that while Vision Pro does have a “killer application,” it is hard to justify spending $3,500 on it.

She explained that the initial “honeymoon phase” has ended: “I’ve been using it for a month now. Of course, when you get a new product to review, you’re going to use it continuously in order to do a thorough assessment.”

“At first, I really liked using the Vision Pro, and I still do, just a lot less frequently,” Stern said. Initially, she thought the device would be very suitable for work and could be used as a writing environment, but found this was not the case in practice. Ultimately, her main use case shifted to watching movies and TV shows.

Stern believes that watching video content during flights might be one of the most suitable applications for the Vision Pro: “I have to say, wearing it on a plane is absolutely a ‘killer application.’ In the future, you’ll see more people wearing it on planes because it indeed provides a great experience. Even if you’re in first class, it makes you feel wonderful; and if you’re like me, stuck between a couple weeks ago, it’s even more of a lifesaver.”

Stern shared her in-flight experience, “I quickly connected to United Airlines’ Wi-Fi, started playing downloaded videos, and even streamed some content from the United app. Overall, it was a good experience, but the question is how often will you use it?”

Stern pointed out that this is a fundamental problem faced by all VR headsets: users initially feel excited, but eventually, they mostly end up collecting dust, and she believes Vision Pro is no exception.

Despite soon returning the review unit, Stern said she would miss it, but not enough to justify its high price tag. She admitted she might need to buy one in the future for work purposes (such as reviewing apps and accessories) but stressed, “If I were just an average consumer, I would not buy this headset.”