Apple’s Vision Pro isn’t a full-fledged Mac replacement — yet
“I haven’t upgraded the Mac (or PC) I use for work in a years. I was going to replace it this year, and I’m wondering if I could or should get an Apple Vision Pro instead. What do you think?”
I’ve heard more variations of that question in the past two weeks than I expected. It’s not a bad idea in some respects.
- Apple itself is pitching Vision Pro as the first spatial computer platform.
- The device uses an M2 processor on par with Macs from a year ago.
- There are already tons of productivity apps and tools for the device (Office, Zoom, Webex, Things, Fantastical, and Photoshop immediately jump to mind).
- Apple has made no secret of the fact it sees the device as a workplace tool.
- The visionOS 1.1 beta has relatively broad support for mobile device management (MDM), meaning Vision Pro will be a good corporate citizen in short order (something that was unexpected; watchOS, for instance, took eight years to get even rudimentary MDM support).
- It allows users to essentially have unlimited display space, unlike desktop or laptop displays.
I can see the wheels turning in people’s heads when they consider that this is a device with clear potential well beyond playing with dinosaurs, reliving moments with spatial photos or watching immersive movies or other content. It draws you into a slightly different but incredibly compelling world and it feels like someone’s handed you something from a magical future.