The second generation Apple Vision Pro brings some much-needed enhancements. Here’s the full list.
Dual Knit Band
The biggest change to the new Apple Vision Pro is the new Dual Knit Band. By far the most common complaint about the first model has been about comfort issues, and Apple is aiming to solve them with this new strap. The Dual Knit Band has a new back-and-top design based on the original Solo Knit Band, with precise and individual adjustment for top and bottom with a single Fit Dial.
The back strap also features embedded tungsten weights, which act as a counterweight to improve comfort and balance. These weights will pull the Apple Vision Pro upwards, therefore reducing weight and pressure on your face.
Here is how Apple describes the new band:
The Dual Knit Band delivers an even more comfortable fit for users. It features upper and lower straps that are 3D-knitted as a single piece to create a unique dual-rib structure that provides cushioning, breathability, and stretch. The lower strap features flexible fabric ribs embedded with tungsten inserts that provide a counterweight for additional comfort, balance, and stability. And the intuitive dual-function Fit Dial allows users to make fine-tuned adjustments to achieve their ideal fit. The new Dual Knit Band comes in small, medium, and large sizes; is available to purchase separately; and is compatible with the previous-generation Apple Vision Pro.
Finally, the best news about the new Dual Knit Band is that it also works with the original Apple Vision Pro!
New M5 chip
Another significant upgrade for Apple Vision Pro is the M5 chip. The original Apple Vision Pro launched with M2, and as any Apple Vision Pro owner knows, it’s never been a particularly snappy experience. M5 brings many much-needed upgrades to Apple Vision Pro’s performance and capabilities.
One significant upgrade that M5 brings to Apple Vision Pro is hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading. This will allow apps and games to add more details with more realistic lighting, all while having better performance. The CPU of M5 also has more cores than M2, gaining an extra 2 efficiency cores. This new CPU will offer a notable boost in performance compared to M2, which Apple says this will result in faster experiences throughout visionOS, such as faster app loading and more responsive web browsing.
Finally, M5 brings substantially better AI and ML performance with Neural Accelerators and a new 16-core Neural Engine. Apple says this will result in system features, like creating spatial scenes, running up to 50% faster. Third-party apps can expect to see up to 2x faster performance as well.
Displays and visuals
While the micro-OLED screens in the new Apple Vision Pro are the same as before, the performance of M5 brings some upgrades to the visuals of Apple Vision Pro. visionOS now renders 10% more pixels, which will make everything look a little clearer and sharper.
Apple Vision Pro can now boost the refresh rate to 120Hz when looking at your surroundings through passthrough or using Mac Virtual Display. The previous Apple Vision Pro maxed out at 100Hz. Apple says this increase will reduce motion blur when looking through passthrough.
Battery life
Thanks to M5 being more efficient than M2, Apple says you can expect about 30 more minutes of battery life:
Up to 2.5 hours of general usage, up from 2 hours
Up to 3 hours of video playback, up from 2.5 hours
And of course… you can continue to expect “all day usage while plugged in”!
Included accessories
The new Apple Vision Pro makes some changes to what’s included in the box. Instead of including the Solo Knit Band and Dual Loop Band, Apple Vision Pro now includes just the new Dual Knit Band. The other bands are still available for purchase, however.
The new Vision Pro also replaces the now-discontinued 30W charger with their new 40W-60W dynamic power adapter.
Apple Vision Pro continues to include the battery, a front cover, Polishing Cloth, extra Light Seal Cushion, and an exclusive 1.5m USB-C charging cable.
Wrap up
The new Apple Vision Pro is available for preorder now, and will be in stores on Wednesday, October 22. The new Dual Knit Band is also available for preorder now and will launch on October 22.
Apple also announced that the Logitech Muse pencil will be available on October 22, and that PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers will be available to purchase on November 11.
My favorite Apple accessories: