After eight months of using my Apple Vision Pro, I’ve found it immensely useful for my writing work. I try to spend as much time writing with my Vision Pro as possible.
There’s still a lot I have to do on my Mac — but the work I can do from the Vision Pro is so good that I can’t wait for the platform to develop and grow even further.
Watch our video or keep reading to learn how.
How I use my Vision Pro for work, eight months in
Table of Contents:
Focused work in Vision Pro
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Costing nearly $3,500, the pricey Vision Pro is wonderful for consuming immersive media, but not many people want to drop that much just to watch videos. The cost is better justified if the headset could be used for work, but outside specialist applications like editing big-screen Hollywood movies from home, the Vision Pro hasn’t caught on as a productivity device.
Except with me!
I am far, far more efficient at writing when I’m wearing the Vision Pro than I am at my Mac. It’s not even close. Days where I write using the Vision Pro are easily twice as productive.
The key is Vision Pro’s stripped-back user interface.
The Vision Pro doesn’t have a dock or a desktop or anything else visible in the UI to pull me away from what I’m working on. Whereas on my Mac, I work in a somewhat chaotic and cluttered way.
On the outside, the Vision Pro is a clunky physical object, but the inside experience of using it is the Platonic ideal of an invisible user interface.
The Vision Pro forces me to focus because it takes everything else away.
I have access to all the same apps; I could distract myself just as easily. But I would have to summon the Home View, open an app and move my work out of the way.
Mac Virtual Display
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
You might think that Mac Virtual Display would offer the best of both worlds — but in practice, it’s the worst. I already have a desktop computer with a 4K display, so Mac Virtual Display doesn’t give me any extra screen space or resolution.
It’s the same as using my Mac, except more complicated. Sitting at my desk is one of the few times where the external battery and its connecting cable truly feels awkward and fiddly.
I’m curious to try out the panoramic virtual display when that comes out later, but I don’t know if it’ll change much.
Accessories
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
The comfort strap by Annapro has been a total game changer. This product attaches to the bridge of the headset and it lets you use it without the light seal. It’s so great getting some of my peripheral vision back. And… I can scratch my face.
At only $35, it’s an absolute must-have for every Vision Pro owner.
I’ve also been using the Fusion combination keyboard and trackpad by Mokibo. You can type on it like a slim, portable laptop keyboard, and you can swipe your fingers over the keys for precision input.
The trackpad quality isn’t great (and the keyboard isn’t much to write home about either) so I would never rely on this as the one and only input device for my computer, it’s really great as a secondary input device. I can always use my eyes on the Vision Pro, but for the occasional times where I’m on a website that needs a precise cursor, it does in a pinch. And it means I don’t have to actually keep and carry and charge a Bluetooth trackpad. It’s there when I need it, and when I don’t, it’s just a keyboard.
What’s next
It’s worth mentioning writing is only 60% of my job. I try to spend as much of my time writing while wearing the Vision Pro. But I still usually need to end the day at my Mac regardless, in order to make screenshots and article images.
I also produce The CultCast podcast and weekly videos. These are tasks that’ll still require a Mac for many years to come. But I can easily see a future where more of my job can be done using an advanced version of the Vision Pro, like graphic design, podcasting and video editing.
Be sure to read the other side of the story — why Vision Pro is great for entertainment, gaming and photos.
