I’ve spent a bunch of the past few weeks testing out Apple’s new Vision Pro headset. It’s interesting!

And, for commerce and marketing executives, I think Vision Pro — and the bigger idea behind it — is worth understanding with some depth: Wearable computers will only continue to get more portable, capable, and integrated into the consumer experience.

In this piece: What the Apple Vision Pro is and isn’t; what early commerce experiences are available and what they’re like; what isn’t yet possible; my thoughts on where this is all going; and how brands should approach new technologies like the Vision Pro and Apple’s VisionOS.

What is Apple Vision Pro?

I won’t spend much time describing the Vision Pro itself — there’s already plenty of that out there — other than to say it’s a $3,500 headset computer that you strap to your face, with a beautiful and immersive screen, and a bunch of sensors and cameras. You navigate the interface by moving your eyeballs (it’s tracking them in real time), looking at things, and then pinching your fingers to “click” or select them.

For a more detailed description, if you haven’t yet, I recommend watching Nilay Patel’s review for The Verge (also available as a text article) and Marques Brownlee’s review and analysis videos. Then, for a fun one, watch Casey Neistat take his Vision Pro out for a spin in New York.

Shopping on Vision Pro today

Apple isn’t specifically promoting Vision Pro as a shopping or commerce machine — it’s focusing on productivity, entertainment, and communication. But because it’s a computer connected to the internet, people will be using it to shop. And a few retail and e-commerce brands — Alo Yoga, Lowe’s, J.Crew, Mytheresa, and others — have already launched specific Vision Pro apps. More on that in a minute.

The easiest and best way to shop on Vision Pro today is via the built-in Safari web browser. There’s nothing weird or special about this, other than that you can shop on what feels like a giant screen in front of your face.

Browsing is similar to an iPad or laptop. Web technologies like shopping carts, ads, and forms work normally, though entering text on Vision Pro is a drag, and selecting navigation or interface elements sometimes takes a few tries. Safari supports the usual payment wallets like Shop Pay and Apple Pay, plus good, old-fashioned credit card entry.

One neat trick: For merchants that have 3D models of products on their sites for augmented reality (AR), such as Ikea and Design Within Reach, you can play with those on the Vision Pro. Here I am looking at an Ikea kitchen cart standing inside Yosemite, one of Apple’s built-in immersive environments.

Here is an Aeron office chair that I’ve placed on the moon.

You can also look at these objects in a real room — your real room — using the Vision Pro’s passthrough mode. (Unfortunately, my kitchen is in what you might call a pre-renovation state, so no public tours!)

It’s a little tricky to control these pop-up objects with your fingers in the air, but it’s surprisingly believable — you can really feel what it’s like to have a life-size kitchen cart right there, walk around it, pretend to chop veggies on it, etc.

This isn’t a frequent use case for most people, but it is a situation where a 3D headset with passthrough is impressively better than a flat display. And because some companies are already creating these 3D models for other purposes (and AR works on other devices, including your iPhone), this is a “free” bonus for the Vision Pro. Unbury this feature if you have it!

And if you’re selling something for the home or office — picture frames, art, furniture, appliances, etc. — it might make sense to eventually support it.

There’s also already a small selection of Vision Pro apps from retailers and e-commerce brands — Alo, Zillow, Lowe’s, etc. — that attempt to offer immersive experiences that are much more native to the device.

In the Alo Sanctuary app, you can browse through four collections of women’s clothing, on 360-degree virtual sets like a beachside pier (including ocean sounds) or a deck overlooking a dramatic desert canyon.

Here, clothes are rendered on 3D mannequins, which you can sort-of spin around or pull closer to you. And if you like something, you can buy it with a couple of clicks using Apple Pay. If you want a break from shopping, you can sit through a short “meditation” session while admiring the view.

A similar app for J.Crew is set on what looks like a lower Manhattan streetscape. In another scene, you can shop for workwear in a downtown office loft.

And an app for Mytheresa, the luxury e-commerce merchant, lets you shop for gold sandals from the simulated vantage point of a bridge overlooking the Eiffel Tower, or for Loro Piana swimsuits from a Capri beach. Each of these three apps was made by Obsess, a white-label tech provider for brands and retailers.

Zillow’s app, meanwhile, lets you browse a selection of real estate listings. Some have 3D tours, which you can use to view 360-degree photos of each room, and see a tiny model floorplan.

Are these apps good? Is this the future of shopping?

I don’t want to come across as overly critical about version 1.0 apps — this is new for everyone, and a lot of development and design work was probably done without enough (or any) access to an actual Vision Pro device.

But these apps feel like examples of things — immersive scenery! world-building! mindfulness! — that sound good in a sales pitch, and make sense on paper, but quickly show their (and the platform’s) limitations.

In the press release for the J.Crew app, it boasts about the ability “to scrutinize the texture and quality of materials like never before.” Users can “pull up a piece of clothing or an accessory so close to their face that they can see a product’s granular weaves, textures, folds, creases and dyes.”

This is, politely, not true. It’s very clear inside the headset that it’s an unrealistic rendering; a good 2D photo, even knowing all the flaws of product photography, would be much better.

In Zillow’s case, the 3D-tour imagery is sub-par and weird: Spinning around in one of the kitchens makes me dizzy, not excited to look at the next room. It looks a lot better in the 2D screenshot then when it’s actually on your face.

(Actually, the Vision Pro’s display makes it clear that most existing digital imagery isn’t good enough. If this thing takes off, companies will need to dramatically increase their visual production quality.)

The bigger issue, which Zillow can control, is that they didn’t pick cool, wacky, or interesting houses to feature. If this is shopping as entertainment, you have to be entertaining!

I get it: There’s some allure in being able to say you shipped something for the launch of a new platform, especially from Apple. (And, here we are, talking about them, so there’s an “earned media” angle, too.) In some cases, there can be real first-mover advantages to adopting new platforms, especially if there’s free promotion attached.

And the whole point of software is that you can iterate and improve over time, so I’ll look forward to future updates. If the Apple Vision platform works, this will be the smallest user base it ever has; future users can get a different first impression.

But today, these just feel like shallow, rather cliché demos — not actually a better, more useful, or fun way to shop. It’s temping to think that people will want to shop in a virtual brand environment in a headset. But I’m not blown away.

The app I liked a bit more was from the home-improvement retailer Lowe’s, which lets you customize a kitchen design and see what it looks like spatially. It’s the one of the bunch that makes you feel a little creative, not just a mindless air-pincher.

It’s also a simple demo, and the interface is awkward. It would be 100x more compelling if it could show real-time renovations to your real kitchen as you stand in it. But that’s probably a much bigger development investment, if it’s even possible — we’ll see where these things go. (The app was made in-house.)

Unlike shopping for sweatshirts, kitchen and home design is a high-stakes purchase, and you really want to feel like you’re there before you commit. So I think there’s a real future for spatial design apps — for trade, for fun, and for commerce.

Shopping on Vision Pro tomorrow

The real power of new platforms — that brands and developers can harness and build on — is to make things possible that weren’t before.

Smartphones, for instance, put a powerful computer with wireless internet, location awareness, and a high-resolution camera in everyone’s pocket, enabling services like Instagram and Uber.

So what do you get when everyone has a stereoscopic virtual environment they can pop in and out of? (And all those cameras and sensors.) What commerce services and businesses might that enable?

Broadly, I think there is something compelling about being able to view and experience 3D objects and spaces that feel almost real. For high-value, high-consideration purchases — cars, vacations, homes, art, certain types of gear; where you really want to feeeeel something, maaann — I see the value in exploring those types of features and apps.

The idea of being able to have a private consultation with an expert, who can show you around or offer you samples to observe up close, is also interesting.

That J.Crew app for the Vision Pro also supposedly features the ability to “activate one-on-one video calls with J.Crew’s expert stylists or host group video chats to get others’ opinions on looks,” using Apple’s SharePlay and FaceTime technology. But I couldn’t find it; maybe it’s coming later?

I don’t think that pays off for a pair of jeans, but for higher-value, higher-consideration purchases, it might. Although this hasn’t really become a thing on phones, which everyone already has.

(And if there’s a lesson from one of Apple’s other more-immersive platforms — the Apple TV — it’s that there just isn’t much consumer interest in “lean-back” shopping. I thought the Airbnb app, for instance, might be a big hit there. Nope — abandoned. Who wants to look at Airbnbs when Netflix is also an option?)

Anyway, this thing is still super new, but here are some things I’m thinking about:

Immersive video: This is the most compelling feature of Vision Pro so far — it really transports you someplace else. Unfortunately, there just isn’t much of it yet. Apple has supplied a few sample videos in its TV app, including a woman walking a mountain tightrope and some nature footage.

Like other forms of media, the story has to be really good to command someone’s entire attention for more than a few seconds — I’ll never watch those demo videos a second time. But a short clip of a soccer goal felt exhilarating, so I think there’s real promise here. (Apple is rolling out immersive MLS soccer highlights imminently.)

What’s the brand and commerce angle? Think about transporting people somewhere they just can’t get, where there’s a real payoff to being there. Front row at a fashion show. (Front row a lot of places!) Inside the process. Behind the velvet rope.

There’s nuance and complexity here — you can’t move the camera a lot, or people will feel nauseous — but I think we’ll see interesting work, and maybe an opportunity for shoppable video or brand-adjacent entertainment.

Decorating your virtual space: Today, most uses for the Vision Pro require you to sit relatively still. Because VisionOS windows are pinned to a physical position, it doesn’t really work while you’re walking around. But I like the idea of being able to decorate your surroundings with little accents and tools.

Adam Lisagor, founder of the commercial agency Sandwich, just built and launched a Vision Pro app called Television, which lets you plop an old-school (or new-school) TV set anywhere in your field of view.

In theory, these are for watching videos. (And, yes, we’re definitely in the iPhone Lighter App era of Vision Pro app evolution.) But, zooming out, it’s fun to imagine the idea of placing other functional objects around your virtual environment. Some sort of plant or virtual pet? (There’s also already a news ticker app, if you want to imagine your life as a CNN screen.)

What about a bulletin board or moodboard? (Hello, Pinterest?) Can you decorate a “room” and share it with others? Can people buy the stuff — either a physical or virtual edition — that you put in there?

What branded art or decorations could also be a portal to shopping or engagement? How can these experiences be creative tools?

And, crucially, what’s worth using over and over? The idea of moving my hands to “build” a Chipotle bowl before I order it sounds fun — once.

Shared experiences: One of the early criticisms of Vision Pro is that it’s an isolating device. Perhaps that’s true for certain situations. But I also think it’s a teleporter that can bring people who are already alone into some state of togetherness.

If a thousand people are on your website or app, or watching your video or event, how do they notice each other and communicate? Can they recommend things to each other? Pass objects to each other? Make something together that others can see?

This starts to sound like the “metaverse” concept that hasn’t yet lived up to hallucinations. But almost 72 million people play Roblox every day, up more than 20% year over year. There’s clearly something here.

And never forget our Consumer Trends data point from a couple of years ago: More Gen. Z and Millennials in the US say they feel most like like themselves “online” versus “offline.”

Vision Pro in the physical world: As I noted, today’s Vision Pro isn’t really designed to use while you’re walking or moving. But that has to be on the roadmap — the whole point of AR is that it accentuates the physical world. As these devices become more portable, less bulky, and more natural looking, they’ll be more useful out and about.

(I like the way longtime Apple analyst Neil Cybart describes VisionOS and the Vision Pro: “The beginning of a new era where we look ‘through’ screens rather than at them.”)

How does “ambient” commerce, then, start to take shape? Can you just look at something and buy it with two taps?

What about apps and platforms built on a layer over the physical “real” world? Those didn’t catch on in the desktop or mobile era (beyond Pokémon Go), but if we’re wearing computer glasses, it’s more plausible.

What does “in-store mode” become for a Nike or Whole Foods app? And today, how to build towards that?

What’s worth the investment?

The key question, of course: Is Apple Vision actually going to be the next platform that millions of people buy and use? Or is this going to be Apple’s first underwhelming major effort in a long time? The truth is that we won’t know for a while.

My take after using one of these for a few weeks is that Vision Pro is a fascinating early look at one direction where computing, entertainment, and interfaces are going. The word I would re-emphasize here is early: This is not a mass consumer device.

Wearable computing is here to stay, and Apple will almost certainly continue to invest. So something like this could become a mass consumer device someday.

But this one isn’t: It’s too uncomfortable (heavy, awkward) for many people to use for long periods of time. It’s simply too expensive ($3,500 and up) for most people to purchase. And — for now — it’s lacking enough life-changing, next-dimension experiences to justify those first two tradeoffs on any sort of large-population level.

So if you’re going to do any near-term consumer market-sizing exercise here, this probably won’t pass. Most people won’t own one of these exact devices.

But that’s not to say Vision Pro won’t be influential — it already is.

It is very possible that people using this device will create or invent some profound new forms of entertainment, productivity, education, creativity, or commerce experiences, worth billions. And all big things start small.

I believe that’s why Apple decided to ship this in its current, limited, very “Pro” state, before iterating towards more accessible versions.

This is, no doubt, a different strategy than it has taken with its last several platforms, which were consumer-focused from the beginning (and more approachably priced). But this is different enough that people may need to live inside Vision Pro for a bit to create for the eventual Vision Air, or whatever it’s going to be called.

(Let’s not forget that Instagram launched in late 2010 — for the iPhone 4. UberX didn’t exist until 2012, four years after the App Store debuted.)

In the meantime, many people — perhaps very many — who find it comfortable and convenient for their specific needs will love it! It’s a really cool piece of technology.

So brands and leaders should approach this as they do any major new platform: With curiosity and by asking “what if?”

At very least, try one out — start with the free Apple Store demo — and make sure your website works.

Designers, curious people, future-leaning brand leaders, and entrepreneurs should experience this world and follow along, even casually. I’ll be paying attention and covering any important updates here, so stay tuned.

If you have a budget for experimentation, and the creative juices are flowing, it could be a worthwhile field to play. Build some things. Make them yours. See where it goes.

(Some of the best initial tools could be for designers and engineers — and maybe more initially useful for internal ops, including product design, than consumer-facing projects or marketing.)

Platform owners like YouTube and Shopify, meanwhile, have a responsibility to figure out a strategy, in case this goes places. If your customers will eventually want or need to support this, you will, too (if you want to keep them).

Don’t pretend this will move the needle any time soon. You do not need to be one of the first apps on the store. But if spatial computing or VisionOS takes off, it will affect how people spend their time and money, and what they consume. And it’ll be important to have a point of view — and a head start on where and how to participate.