How durable is the Apple Vision Pro headset? My first guess would be “not very”, because it’s a large complex device with a big glass panel on the front. That's just asking for trouble.
But considering a bunch of people have already been spotted using the headset in public places, it may help to know what kind of torture the $3,500 spatial computing device can handle.
Enter YouTuber JerryRigEverything, who is well known for putting new devices through their paces and figuring out just how durable everything really is. The Apple Vision Pro is no exception, so turn away now if you don’t like the sound of extreme scratching.
The first thing to note is the front panel on the Vision Pro isn’t very sturdy. JerryRigEverything found scratches started appearing at level 3, and getting considerably worse at level 4. To the point where there wasn’t any need to continue. In fact, a level 9 scratch test actually caused the cover to start cracking.
So any metal object that comes in contact with the Vision Pro is going to leave a mark. That’s definitely going to cause issues if you get a scratch over one of the headset’s front-facing cameras. Thankfully, the downward-facing cameras appear to be covered by glass, and seem more resistant to scratches.
Why is that front panel so weak? Because that panel is actually made from a laminate plastic, and if foldable phones have taught us anything it’s that plastic screens aren’t all that durable. And if you’re thinking JerryRigEverything was bamboozled by a screen protector, you’d be wrong. He did check for one after those shocking early results.
So you better keep the Vision Pro’s protective cover on as much as you can. Otherwise you may end up with a hefty $799 repair bill for a new front panel. No, we’re not kidding about that price.
You’ll want to keep those inner lenses safe as well, with JerryRigEverything causing some serious scratching with a utility knife. He recommends that you don’t clean those lenses with anything rough like a paper towel, and only use soft cloths to protect from scratches.
The fabric headband is definitely not fire resistant, and the aluminum body does appear to scratch under a serious amount of pressure — though it does seem to be durable enough on its own. The aluminum frame and the thickness of the Vision Pro also meant that it held up very well in a bend test.
JerryRigEverything’s general teardown also reiterated what we saw in iFixit’s teardown of the Vision Pro headset. This is an insanely complicated device, and repairs are going to be difficult to do. In fact JerryRigEverything seems to think the headset has not been designed to be repaired.
But he’s also being a lot rougher with the headset than iFixit seemed to be, really emphasizing the “tear” part of teardown. There's no coming back from that sort of treatment, honestly.
So if you have an Apple Vision Pro headset, be sure to keep it safe. Keep that protective cover on whenever you're not using it, and make sure to clean the interior lenses with extreme care. And for the love of all that's good in the world, do not use it in the middle of the darn street.
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