Vision Pro looks like it’s going to be really, really cool — for almost everyone. I say almost everyone because there is a (quite large) contingent that will struggle with the device straight out of the box, and they account for nearly 64% of the US population.
Glasses wearers.
The CEO of Apple wears glasses, for goodness sake — so you would have thought that there would be an option for eyeglass wearers that doesn’t cost them an extra chunk of cash on top of the already massive price of the headset itself.
Now, however, we’ve learned the true price of the Zeiss optic lenses for both prescription wearers and more ‘casual’ wearers — and while they could’ve been a whole lot more expensive, they’re by no means cheap.
Sorry glasses wearers, you’ll have to pay more than everyone else
So there are two options for glasses wearers: the prescription option, which will cost $149, and the reading option, which will set you back $99. Now, it’s worth noting that those aren’t as much as they could’ve been, with concerns that they’d be multiple hundreds of dollars.
It does feel cheeky, if nothing else, that there isn’t some kind of included lens option for people that need it. If you can’t wear your glasses in the thing, as it would appear, then we would have thought a built-in system that can be configured on purchase would have been the way to go.
"Having bought lens inserts for the Meta Quest 2 already, I was concerned that glasses wearers like myself were yet again facing a hefty bill for prescription add-ons for Vision Pro. Given the expense of the main unit, and the fact that Apple has partnered with the premium Zeiss brand for the accessory, had me crying dollar-shaped tears, assuming that the prescription cost would scale in line with the overall cost of the headset. But, though still a frustrating additional fee that I'd hoped Apple would absorb into the Vision Pro's price tag, the Zeiss insert costs roughly what I've seen for similar inserts for much cheaper VR headsets — a huge relief. Here's hoping those with more complex prescriptions aren't expected to pay more in line with the complexities of their needs, though."
Unfortunately, that’s not the way that Apple has set it up, instead opting for a separate purchase. Undoubtedly those lenses are going to be high quality, and they click into place with magnets for that effortless, Apple simplicity we’ve come to expect — but glasses wearers can, and likely will, feel slightly hard done by.
Vision Pro comes out February 2, and preorders open January 19. But there's one one point for the lenses: You won’t have to wait for them to come out afterward. Zeiss lenses launch alongside the headset.
More from iMore
