![\"Black](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/apple-vision-pro-m5-and-r2-chips-6c.png\")
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Did the Vision Pro need an update?<\/p>\n
On the one hand, no: Apple\u2019s cutting-edge VR computer hasn\u2019t exactly taken the world by storm. It\u2019s a view of the future that, at its current size and price, doesn\u2019t have much of a place in the present.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, it turns out that the M2 processor that powered the Vision Pro was underserving some of its advanced hardware. Apple also probably needed to stop making M2 chips, and the M5 is fresh out of the oven. Upgrading the Vision Pro allows the company to keep it around without a major overhaul.<\/p>\n
The Vision Pro\u2019s two amazing postage-stamp-sized OLED displays benefit greatly by being driven by an M5. We already knew that rendering every single pixel on those displays was impossible\u2014that\u2019s why Apple used foveated rendering, a technique that renders whatever you\u2019re looking at at a much higher resolution than the stuff in your peripheral vision. (Because of how your brain works, you don\u2019t notice!) If you take a Vision Pro screenshot, you\u2019ll notice that only a certain portion of the image is rendered at high resolution\u2014that\u2019s foveated rendering in action.<\/p>\n
Anyone who has popped the Vision Pro into developer mode in order to take a full-resolution screenshot knows what happens when the device tries to render every single pixel at full quality: it stutters badly. The displays are willing, but that\u2019s an enormous amount of pixels, even for an M2, so Apple built the foveated rendering system.<\/p>\n
Except\u2026 it turns out that even that system didn\u2019t actually render at the full resolution of the displays. Because with the M5 version of the Vision Pro, Apple says it\u2019s rendering 10% more pixels than before, all in the foveated rendering area. In essence, everything is a little bit clearer in the new version of the Vision Pro. Though you probably won\u2019t notice in most contexts\u2014reality is fuzzy and messy\u2014in Mac Virtual Display mode, the M5 model gets much closer to the ultra-crisp resolution we expect from our Mac displays. (It\u2019s still not quite as clear as my Apple Studio Display, but it\u2019s definitely clearer.)<\/p>\n
Apple also says that it can now drive the displays, in certain circumstances, at up to 120Hz. (I believe frame rates used to be more in the 90Hz range.) The circumstances seem to be primarily when you\u2019re using the device in pass-through mode, so that your surroundings move with less latency and more fluidity. I have to admit that I didn\u2019t notice any major differences in the not-very-well-lit rooms of my house, but I think I could notice the improvement in brighter light. (It\u2019s hard to tell and almost impossible to compare.)<\/p>\n
There are a few places where the speed of the M5 processor is readily apparent, most notably when the system is churning to build a new Spatial Persona. It\u2019s funny, but generally, I have never found myself feeling that the pure processing speed of the Vision Pro is letting me down. It feels fast, even the M2 model. Clearly, the real power is being expended to maintain the illusion of reality on those OLED displays, and that\u2019s why most of the benefits in this chip upgrade are in rendering.<\/p>\n
Overall, the Vision Pro continues to be what it has always been\u2014an expensive look at the future that Apple hopes to build, but with limited practical value in the present. As I wrote in my original review<\/a>: \u201cThere are very few use cases for which I can say that, yes, the Vision Pro is a smart investment at $3499. Getting a taste of the future isn\u2019t cheap, and it\u2019s not especially practical, but it\u2019s such a rare opportunity that it can sometimes be worth it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n Apple keeps pushing visionOS forward<\/a>, and the hardware is now updated to run for a few more years. Unlike literally every other product Apple makes, the Vision Pro is not meant for regular consumers. It\u2019s a place for people to dream on what future products might be like, whether they\u2019re VR computers or subtle AR glasses. It\u2019s a way for Apple to build the operating system and platform that might drive such devices in the 2030s, for filmmakers and sports leagues to experiment with immersive experiences, for developers to imagine how they might build software for such platforms, and for brave users to mess around with the most high-tech device Apple has ever built, despite it not having a lot of strong use cases.<\/p>\n You still don\u2019t need a Vision Pro, but every time I put mine on, I keep looking for reasons not to take it off. I\u2019m glad it continues pushing the hardware forward, but it\u2019ll need to be a fraction of the price and weight before it could possibly gain broad appeal.\u2014Jason Snell<\/strong><\/p>\n Band together<\/p>\n [Here\u2019s Dan Moren with his experience of using the new Vision Pro Dual Knit Band.]<\/p>\n While most of the M5 Vision Pro\u2019s updates aren\u2019t available to owners of the previous generation, there\u2019s one notable exception: the new Dual Knit Band, which comes standard with the new Vision Pro and is available separately for $99.<\/p>\n Apple, of course, included two separate bands along with the original M2-powered Vision Pro: the Solo Knit Band and the Dual Loop Band. Those dissatisfied with those first-party options have experimented with a variety of other solutions over the years, from third-party add-ons like Belkin\u2019s head strap<\/a> to adapters that let you Frankenstein a pair of Solo Knit Bands together.<\/p>\n So, is the new band\u2014which is also the only one included with new Vision Pros\u2014the one (er, two?) to rule them all?<\/p>\n For the past several months, I\u2019ve relied on the Dual Loop Band as my go-to Vision Pro setup; it isn\u2019t bad, once you get it all sized, but it\u2019s certainly more utilitarian than elegant. I was eager to try the Dual Knit Band and see if it could displace the reigning champ.<\/p>\n The first thing you\u2019ll notice about the Dual Knit Band is that it\u2019s heavy. Noticeably heavy. It reminded me a bit of a very nicely designed leg weight. At 6.9 ounces \/ 195 grams, it is\u2014according to my new favorite website\u2014about the weight of an adult hamster or four cinnamon Pop-Tarts<\/a>. By comparison, the original Solo Knit Band is 1.75 ounces \/ 49 grams (an average medium-sized egg<\/a>), and the Dual Loop Band comes in at 1.35 ounces \/ 38 grams (about 15 pennies<\/a>).<\/p>\n It might seem counterintuitive to add more weight to a device of which one of the main criticisms has been that it\u2019s too heavy, but the goal here is to provide a counterweight to the Vision Pro itself, and, yes, it does work. But that\u2019s not to say that it totally fixes the problem: end of the day, you\u2019ve still got more weight on your head. I was able to wear the Vision Pro for a few hour-plus stretches with the Dual Knit Band and not feel it too much, but it\u2019s still not a device that you\u2019re going to have on all day.<\/p>\n The band\u2019s design is appropriately Apple-y. Swapping bands on the Vision Pro is as simple as changing out Apple Watch bands: pull on the orange tabs, and the old band pops off. Then just click the new ones\u2014the magnets do the rest.<\/p>\n Perhaps the best part of the entire band is the Fit Dial. Based on the same design as the Solo Knit Band, where turning the knob loosened or tightened the band, the Dual Knit Band\u2019s dial does double duty to adjust both the rear band and top band. In order to switch between the two, you pop it outwards\u2014not unlike how you\u2019d set the time on an analog watch. It\u2019s got a satisfying click in both directions, and the dial\u2019s nature means that it\u2019s easier to adjust while you\u2019re wearing it, compared to the Dual Loop Band, where unstrapping the velcro always felt a little bit like you were in danger of the Vision Pro sliding off your head.<\/p>\n After four or five days with the Dual Knit Band, I think I\u2019ve finally got it set right for me. I\u2019ve got a fairly small head, and it was possible to get the band pretty snug. Sometimes I still feel like the headset isn\u2019t quite well seated on my face, which puts extra pressure on my cheekbones, but that\u2019s not necessarily about the band itself. Ultimately, there\u2019s only so much a band can do to compensate for a roughly 750-gram device you wear on your face. After all, that\u2019s a 7-8 week old kitten<\/a>. Albeit less fuzzy.<\/p>\n Is the Dual Knit Band worth a $99 upgrade for existing Vision Pro users? Let\u2019s be honest, if you\u2019ve struggled to find a comfortable band and you\u2019ve already splashed out $3,500 for the device, another $99 is probably not going to break the bank. But if you\u2019re happy with what you\u2019ve got, it\u2019s probably not going to change the overall experience dramatically. \u2014Dan Moren<\/strong><\/p>\n Take control of hand controllers While not quite an M5 feature, visionOS 26 also brings support for Sony PSVR2 hand controllers. Adding OS support for VR controllers is important to the long-term building out of the platform, because it adds another possible type of content: games. As I wrote a year ago<\/a>:<\/p>\n \n And if Apple wants to get serious about expanding and growing the Vision product line, it needs to get over one particular choice it made in launching it. The company was clearly so proud of its advanced hand-tracking interface that it shipped the Vision Pro with no additional input devices. And I get it! \u201cIf you see hand controllers, they blew it\u201d could have been one of the catchphrases of the Vision Pro development process. A headset shouldn\u2019t require add-on controllers to be usable.<\/p>\n But just as the Mac eventually got arrow keys (despite omitting them from the first Mac keyboard to encourage using the mouse) and the iPad got an Apple Pencil (despite being a touch-first interface), it\u2019s time for Apple to get over itself, and either build precision hand controllers for visionOS or build an API and make a partnership with a third-party accessory developer.<\/p>\n The fact is, lots of games and game-adjacent apps require a level of precision that Apple\u2019s (excellent) hand tracking just can\u2019t muster. Every Vision Pro game I\u2019ve played that featured hand tracking has been a sloppy mess. I get that Apple wanted to show off its hand tracking and lean into \u201cspatial computing\u201d to send the message that the Vision Pro is not a game console but a serious device, but in doing so, it turned its back on the most popular category of entertainment software in the entire VR headset category.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Over the weekend I picked up a PSVR2 and paired the controllers to the M5 Vision Pro. Right now there are only four games that apparently support them, and one of those (Pickle Pro<\/a>) is available only as a beta.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I learned: Adding the hand controllers is the first step, but the next step is up to software developers. I had a pretty good experience with Pickle Pro, which let me play pickleball with a virtual opponent on the other side of a magical portal. For the most part, my hand gestures were tracked accurately.<\/p>\n Ping Pong Club, an app that I struggled to use and blamed on the Vision Pro\u2019s hand tracking, is almost as frustrating with an actual hand controller. So now I\u2019m thinking it\u2019s an issue with that app more than it is the tracking. It certainly couldn\u2019t hold a candle to Eleven Table Tennis<\/a>, an app for the Meta Quest that is rock-solid with its emulation of a ping-pong table and hand-controller-driven paddle. You can pick up a Quest 3 for $500, which is a lot cheaper than $3750, if you want to just play a good game of virtual table tennis.<\/p>\n Still, my hope is that once these controllers are out there\u2014and it would sure be nice if visionOS explicitly supported any third-party controllers, so there could be some price competition\u2014developers will be motivated to port more games that really require hand controllers. I wouldn\u2019t buy a Vision Pro to play games, but I\u2019ve got one, and VR games can be really good. It\u2019s one for the platform to grow on.<\/p>\n As a side note, Apple has implemented interface control via hand controller in the way I expected\u2014pressing the trigger does the same thing as tapping your fingers together, and you can even swipe with your controller just as you would with your hand. When using the PSVR2 controllers, I never felt like I wasn\u2019t able to navigate the normal visionOS interface. \u2014Jason Snell<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/dan-band-6c.jpg\")
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\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/vpickle-6c.jpg\")
Playing some virtual pickleball with PSVR2 controllers.<\/p>\n\n