Comment by mentos
2 days ago
My bet is that having a physical monitor will always be the luxury option and that XR will never be able to get away from the annoyance of having something on your face. Curious if you agree or if maybe you prefer Vitures over a physical monitor?
For me the Vision Pro is my main machine now (supported by a MacBook Pro). And I absolutely love it.
Which is saying something. My second most ergonomic situation is a 120" screen with two 55" screens tilting in from both sides (both in portrait, so all 3 screen verticals line up). All wall mounted. I started wall mounting to get screens off my desk, at which point it was clear bigger was always better.
But for the Vision it took many rounds of trying third party head gear, and customization, before I could wear it comfortably for unlimited time. I just kept trying things until I got there.
I am an obsessive optimist when it comes to ergonomics. Once the Vision is ergonomic for one's head, then it becomes a super ergonomic solution over all. The screen can be wherever you need it for best neck, back and body posture, whether at a desk, couch, (non-driving) car seat, or in bed. And a very wide screen beats any screen patchwork. Although I would like the Vision even more if I could have more than one Mac driven screen when I wanted to. (Recommend expansion batteries that clip on the original, and round magnetic USB-C cable adapters, for more spontaneous mobility.)
I like the standard Apple straps in a pinch. But my face needs a serious break from the weight they distribute on it, every 30-120 minutes.
Agreed. The AVP works so well as an external monitor. I use it a lot while traveling but I’ve found myself preferring it even at home. Comfort during long sessions can be a challenge. While I’m fine with Apple’s dual strap, my current setup is an Anapro forehead strap and no light shield. It does leave an unsightly mark on your forehead but I find it very comfortable and I like letting my face breathe.
Sounds good.
I settled on a CMA1 Comfort Mod, and a couple of those little plastic adapters that let me add a small sized Apple padded band on top, for super duper extra support. And no light shield.
I also have a custom foam light shield, that I made from layers of 1/4" firm craft foam. It is basically scoped goggles that wrap around the lenses, and expand out just around my eyes and sides of nose to black out all light. They are so light they don't need any support but the snug fit on the lenses.
I think that _eventually_ VR/AR will be a superior screen-viewing experience, but from what I've tried it's not there yet.
It's good enough for watching videos, but for working and reading text, I personally haven't used a device with high enough text quality to prevent eye strain.
I'm very bullish on AR though, and I'm willing to bet that consumer grade devices which are genuinely comfortable to work in will become available within the next 2-3 years.
To me, AR is the next step in Human-Computer Interaction while we wait for full BCI (Brain-Computer Interface) devices.
I find the quest 3 with virtual monitors actually pretty good from a text-reading perspective and I can use it for a long time, but that’s using a lower resolution than my native monitors. One thing I think is interesting about it is I don’t need my reading glasses, whereas I very much do when looking at a real monitor. I find the virtual display setup somewhat intolerable for other reasons, though, like the inflexibility about how the displays are arranged, and there’s the physical bit about having a bulky HMD on.
Regarding inflexibility of monitor placement, what are you using as the interface application? Virtual Desktop Streamer let's you move monitors basically anywhere that you want them.
Yea I guess my thought is even if they were light as a single feather they'd still tickle and annoy your face..
Happy to be proven wrong obviously but so far that's my outlook.