Why is Vision Pro facing an early end to its honeymoon period due to two major drawbacks? Competitor Zuckerberg provides firsthand test answers to the impending wave of returns.

Why is there a potential wave of returns for the newly released Vision Pro?
Apple’s Vision Pro was finally officially released in early February, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as a competitor, believes that the price is too high and claims that their own Quest is a better product. It seems that Zuckerberg is not the only one who thinks that Vision Pro is not worth it. There are currently reports of a potential wave of returns on social media platforms. So, what is the problem with this MR headset that costs $3,500?
After personally experiencing Vision Pro, Zuckerberg shared his thoughts and reviews in a video on Instagram. This product, which was originally anticipated by competitors, seemed to put Zuckerberg’s mind at ease after he tried it. He even boldly compared it to his own product, claiming that Quest is not only more affordable but also a better product.
At the same time, there is a potential wave of returns for Vision Pro on social media platforms. Despite selling out during the pre-order period, as the deadline for returns approaches for the first batch of users who have received the device, many people are expressing their intention to return Vision Pro on the internet.
Problem 1: Sacrificing comfort for resolution in the wearing experience
The most commonly criticized issue with Vision Pro is that it is uncomfortable to wear. “Although the performance is as magical as expected, it is very uncomfortable even for a short period of time. I want to use it, but I’m afraid to put it on,” said Parker Ortolani, a product manager at The Verge who personally purchased Vision Pro and ultimately decided to return it. “If they solve the comfort issue, I will support the next generation.”
Wearing discomfort is a key factor that leads many Vision Pro users to return the product.
Another user on X also expressed, “Vision Pro may be the most amazing tech product I have ever used, but I can’t wait to return it. I can’t handle the headaches that come after using it for just 10 minutes.”
In Zuckerberg’s review video, he mentioned that Apple had made many compromises in terms of device quality, comfort, ergonomics, and other aspects of the screen and components in order to fit the powerful screen on the head. “What surprises me is that they had to make so many compromises in device quality – comfort, ergonomics, and other aspects of the screen and components – in order to achieve (higher resolution).”
Zuckerberg also compared the wearing experience of Vision Pro with their own Quest, claiming that Quest is 120 grams lighter (Vision Pro weighs about 650 grams), much more comfortable to wear, and can be used for a longer period of time. Additionally, Quest has a broader field of view and is more convenient for movement due to not having a power cord connected to it. With these advantages, Quest is priced at only 1/7 of Vision Pro ($500).
Problem 2: Failing to convince users to pay the price due to limited work capabilities and entertainment content
The criticism of Vision Pro is not only limited to the discomfort of wearing it. From the perspective of work and entertainment, the current applications are not enough to convince users to pay $3,500, which is a big problem. The Verge mentioned that a user complained on Threads that she is no longer excited about Vision Pro because she feels dizzy when wearing it to use Figma, and this product is not suitable for her work.
Carter Gibson, a senior manager at Google, also commented that it is difficult to perform multiple tasks in various windows while using Vision Pro. “Many file types are not supported in Vision Pro, and I don’t think creating presentations in Vision Pro is easier than using a keyboard and mouse.”
At the same time, there are very few games available to play on Vision Pro, and without a compatible controller, the difficulty of game support is even higher. Zuckerberg also claimed that Quest has more immersive entertainment content than Vision Pro.
“If I don’t plan to use it to improve work efficiency, if I don’t like using it for entertainment, and if there aren’t many games available – I can’t consider keeping this device reasonable,” commented a user on Reddit after using Vision Pro.
Vision Pro still has advantages: eye-tracking technology and increasing number of dedicated apps
Despite the drawbacks mentioned by Zuckerberg and users who have experienced it, many people also praise the technology hidden in Vision Pro, especially its eye-tracking technology. Zuckerberg also admitted that Vision Pro has done well in this aspect and emphasized that this technology will also be incorporated into Meta’s future products.
Furthermore, although there were not many apps initially tailored for Vision Pro, the number has been rapidly growing. Apple announced in January that there were about 150 dedicated apps, which increased to around 600 at the time of official release, and in just two weeks, it further grew to around 1,000, indicating that developers are accelerating their efforts on this emerging platform.
Zuckerberg hopes that their open approach will win in the competition of the next generation computing platform and defeat Apple’s closed approach.
“I know that whenever someone questions whether Apple can become a leader in a new field, Apple fans will get upset, but the reality is that there has always been a debate between open and closed approaches in each generation of computing platforms. In the era of personal computers, Microsoft’s open approach was the winner, and in the next generation (of computing platforms), Meta will be an open approach. I want to ensure that the open approach stands out, and the future is still uncertain,” said Zuckerberg.