The Apple Vision Pro are on everyone’s lips after their presentation at the keynote inaugural WWDC 2023. Californians’ augmented reality glasses will only hit the market early next year and will cost no less than $3,499. In addition, they will initially be sold in the United States and no clues have been given about a possible international launch.
Yesterday, during the coverage of hypertextual, we tell you in detail everything related to the Vision Pro itself, as well as its new operating system, visionOS. Of course, after the presentation of the device, many questions have arisen, and one of them generates great curiosity: Is he headset compatible with prescription glasses or contact lenses?
This is a question that Californians have only half resolved. The simplest – and incomplete – answer is: yes, the Apple Vision Pro can be used by people who require permanent glasses due to vision problems. In fact, the company has designed a very interesting solution in collaboration with Zeiss to achieve this.
The problem is that you still don’t know to what extent the Apple Vision Pro will support the use of prescription glasses. What’s more, those from Cupertino have already clarified on your website that not all ophthalmological prescriptions are compatible with your augmented reality glasses. However, they have not provided further details in this regard.
The Apple Vision Pro can be used with Zeiss prescription lenses
As we indicated previously, people with vision problems will be able to use the Apple Vision Pro through special accessories developed by Zeiss and customized according to need. They are known as Zeiss Optical Inserts and magnetically attach to the lenses of the augmented reality glasses, allowing for precise viewing and eye tracking.
The latter is very important, considering that navigation through visionOS and applications is done with the eyes. Let’s not forget that the Apple Vision Pro incorporates infrared sensors and LED illuminators on the inside, where the screens are located, which are dedicated exclusively to eye scanning.
But let’s not deviate from what is important. The fine print on the Apple Vision Pro website makes it clear that all that glitters is not gold. “Valid prescription required. Not all recipes are compatible”, indicates. This means that Zeiss Optical Inserts will not be a viable option for everyone who requires permanent prescription glasses.
What we don’t yet know is whether this is a technical limitation—that the headset does not work correctly due to the thickness of the glass with a prescription that is too high, for example—, or if the user experience of the Apple Vision Pro is not recommended for conditions such as myopia, astigmatism, farsightedness, etc., due to possible adverse effects.
The other aspect to take into account is that the complementary lenses developed by Zeiss will be sold separately. For now, Apple hasn’t said how much they’ll cost, but given the Vision Pro’s price, it’s unlikely they’ll be cheap.