Tried out: Glasses for the Vision Pro from Apple and the VR optician
If you wear glasses, you need "optical inserts" for the Vision Pro. These are available from Apple in the USA and from a German supplier. Here's how it works.
Zeiss lenses for the Vision Pro.
(Image: Apple)
While virtual reality glasses such as Metas Quest 3 allow you to wear glasses under the headset with relative ease, this is impossible with Apple's Vision Pro. It is not just the lack of space that is a problem, but above all the eye tracking, which would no longer work with glasses. This is why Apple offers so-called optical inserts, which the company has manufactured by Zeiss in China. They are available either as reading glasses or with individual prescription lenses. The so-called Readers cost 100 US dollars, Optical Inserts with individual prescriptions 150 dollars.
Zeiss and the values
We have chosen Optical Inserts. Obtaining them is not so easy, as we have already described in an earlier article. It is essential to have a prescription from an American ophthalmologist. In addition, there is another problem: Zeiss does not manufacture all strengths, some are "out of range" for the Vision Pro. Especially in the case of astigmatism, it can happen that Zeiss rejects the values. As no details are ever given as to where the Optical Inserts may lie, this can degenerate into a game of ping-pong: you order the lenses via the Apple website, upload a prescription (adjusted downwards by the doctor if necessary) and then wait for an email from Zeiss with a rejection or approval. The optical inserts – just like the Vision Pro itself - are only delivered to US addresses. The Vision Pro is expected to come to Europe, including Germany, in June at the earliest, but this is not yet official.
Setup in the Vision Pro
Once the prescription has been approved, production takes around 10 days. Delivery is carried out by Zeiss, whereby the packaging is typical of Apple - including easy-to-understand instructions. The optical inserts can also be engraved on request - for example so that they don't get mixed up if there are several in the family. Left and right are marked. Magnets in the Vision Pro hold the inserts in place - they click securely into place. The setup is simple: after inserting and entering the device PIN, you have to look at a code printed on the packaging of the optical inserts with the Vision Pro. This is followed by a new setup of hand and eye tracking, which is already familiar from the process without the lenses. Finally, the Optical ID biometric protection must also be carried out again, as this is obviously changed by the lenses.
For spectacle wearers who previously had to wear the Vision Pro without lenses, the optical inserts are something of an awakening experience: the 4K OLED screens finally look sharp. This applies not only when viewing the beautiful environments or films, but especially when using the Mac Virtual Display to bring your computer into the Vision Pro. You can really immerse yourself in the headset and even lose your sense of space and time for a moment.
Alternative from Germany
If you own a Vision Pro but are unable to go through Apple's optical insert process in the USA, there is also an alternative from Germany: The VR optician, which specializes in the subject and already has lenses for numerous headsets on offer, has recently also entered the Apple sector. The lenses are also made by Zeiss, are of high-quality workmanship and are even more configurable than what Apple sells. What's more, no prescription is required; the values from the eye test or ophthalmologist are sufficient. One disadvantage, however, is that there is currently no setup code. The configuration is done manually, including new hand and eye tracking. This caused problems with our test lenses, which were primarily aimed at correcting a more severe astigmatism – the process was not completed. In such cases - which should be rare - the company helps and takes the lenses back. According to the company, this should not happen with regular visual acuities such as short-sightedness. In use, there were sometimes artifacts and "flashes" that we did not notice with Apple's original lenses. This could also have something to do with the setup process.
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