The Vision Pro I Want
What is most irksome is that I know Apple could make this here and now if they wanted to; they’ve got all the requisite tech ready and available.
The biggest shortcoming of any beautiful monitor is that you can’t take it with you. If I want peak productivity while I’m traveling, I have to lug my Dell 40in 5k2k with me. 5120x2160 and worth every penny. Serious productivity and even more seriously inconvenient to travel with (I've done so several times).
Enter the Vision Pro I want:
- No silly front screen
- No augmented reality
- No battery
- No wireless (connects to my computer with a Thunderbolt 4 cable)
- I don't even need or want motion tracking / gyroscope / etc.
- Projects a large, high res display as though it was my monitor
- Maybe it could convey audio somehow? That’d just be gravy though.
- Light-weight and comfortable for all-day use
That’s it.
Maybe I grab a Mac Studio / Mac Mini (probably not a Mac Pro), toss it in a carry case along with this incredibly light weight portable display, and I’ve got peak productivity no matter where I go.
In an airplane setting, I’d just need a keyboard and a track pad, and I could work from a coach seat with relative comfort. My MacBook Pro would stay in my backpack, stashed under the seat, with a little cable stretching to this "Vision Pro".
This is the crux of the change though – the 2nd order effects of a portable, wearable monitor replacement: if our large LCD displays became optional, Apple could produce a headless, battery-powered computer. A MacBook Pro without a display. A Mac Mini with an integrated battery. However you want to frame it. You get the idea. What Apple wants to do (has done...) is build the computer into the display (Vision Pro), which results in a wearable that's too heavy, and a computer that isn't suitable for work. Of course, that should be the goal for one day. Clearly not today though. If they had decided the Vision Pro should have been tethered, this blog post would be very different.
What gives me hope here is that I don’t need Apple to make this head-worn display thing. When it comes to smart watches, Apple actively prevents competitors from providing the same integration experience they offer with their own product (in true Apple fashion), but in the case of this “Vision Pro that people might actually want” product, it’s just a monitor. Connect it with a cable and setup is complete. Tada!
And I’d pay for that.
I just need to find the right hardware manufacturer to bring it to life. Call me to discuss!