I’ll be honest, I still think Mac Virtual Display (MVD) for the Apple Vision Pro (AVP) is lackluster. Though I think I have a better understanding of why some reviewers or tech bloggers/enthusiasts have sung it’s praises. I also think they will not be waxing quite as poetic after a week or two of use.
I’ve written before about trying to code on the AVP and why I’m probably going to return it and both times I wrote off MVD as being blurry and a massive step down from using my external monitors. That sentiment hasn’t changed and I stand by all of what I’ve said. However there is a use case that makes at least some sense. When all you have is your MBP’s built-in display and especially if you are on the 14″.
Today I spent an hour or so on my couch using the AVP with MVD and I kind of get it. I think that most of the people I read/heard who spoke highly of MVD were traveling while using it. Compared to just your laptop monitor I can understand why some people might prefer the MVD. Let me be clear though, I still don’t. I thought maybe the ergonomics of looking forward instead of down at the screen would make up for the blurriness, it doesn’t. I thought I’d try what Marco Arment suggested on ATP episode 573: Look at it Harder, making the resolution 1080 instead of the default. That helps with being able to read text some but it’s still not anywhere near as sharp as a native AVP app and you sacrifice a ton of screen space when you do that.
I tried writing some of this blog post using MVD but after taking off the AVP and just using the MBP screen (granted, mine is 16″) I never went back. In fact after 10 minutes or so of using my MBP I got up and moved to my office because, as I’ve said multiple times before, that’s where I’m most productive. I don’t even have the nicest external monitors, mine are 27″ 2K (1440×2560) so they don’t even hit Apple’s retina targets. For retina I’d need to be at 27″ 5K but I can’t bring myself to spend $4.5K (Apple Studio Display) to replace the monitors at only 1 of the 2 locations I work at. Yes, there are cheaper options I could roll the dice on, but even at the low end (~$500/ea) I’m looking at close to $3K to replace the monitors at both of my offices. All that said, my 2K monitors blow away the MVD, it’s no contest.
I’m not the first to call the AVP an “iPad you wear on your head” but it’s an apt description. This is an impressive hardware device that is limited by the software allowed to run on it. I think a lot of people, myself included, thought that MVD would be an “escape hatch” of sorts. That whatever else happened, we could reach for the full power of our MBP at any time. I’m here to tell you that it’s a pipedream as it stands today. I would have gladly paid $300 for the “Developer Strap” and tethered myself to the MBP if it allowed even 1 crisp virtual display but that’s not supported and honestly probably isn’t even possible given that it uses USB2 speeds (come on Apple, that’s just ridiculous in 2024). Even if the price weren’t an issue, it is, the extra weight of carrying around the AVP and your MBP disqualifies it given the lack of sharpness. Speaking of carrying the AVP, I haven’t even talked much about the official Apple carrying case, it’s a huge miss for me. It looks wrinkled all the time, is oversized, and not anywhere close to being worth $200.
So my AVP is going to go back to Apple, hopefully it finds its way to someone who can be productive on iPadOS (and thus productive in visionOS). It’s an amazing technical feat, the virtual environments are stunning, Apple has provided the best VR/AR UI/UX currently available (though it still has shortcomings), and the passthrough is the best available (still too noisy/blurry). I have zero doubt I will own a future version of this device but the Apple Vision Pro “Series 0” is not for me. I just don’t get enough utility out of it for the cost. I can’t wait to see what Apple and developers do with this platform going forward, I know I’ll be back.
Josh Strange 