Ever since I was a child, my mother always taught me to never buy any products in the first generation. ‘Wait until they iron out the bugs,’ she would say. She was mostly talking about cars or appliances, but she applied it to my lifelong love of technology, too. My parents were always holdouts–they were some of the last people I knew to own flip phones.
I, on the other hand, always wanted to be an early adopter. Our split ideologies frequently made us butt heads, and it only got worse as I grew more financially independent. Of course, my mother was the loudest voice warning me to hold back from my uncontrollable Apple shill impulse to be one of the first to purchase the Apple Vision Pro, and she may have been right just this one time–but it all worked out in my favor.
Let me explain.
I set money aside for an entire year at my previous job to purchase the Apple Vision Pro, or the ‘Apple Reality Pro’ as it was dubbed by fans at the time I began saving. I sat in my office after I clocked out with my iPhone and iPad both propped up and ready to refresh the day preorders went out so I could take my fitting scan as quickly as possible. I ended up bumping up my storage capacity to 512 GB due to uncertainty around the size of apps for the device and ended up receiving my unit on launch day.
I based my decision to purchase off a variety of things. I had several use cases in mind–watching films in 3D, completing online classes with my lectures on a big screen behind my notes, and using Mac Virtual Display to use my computer more comfortably while lying in bed (the exact setup in which I’m writing this article). But I was mostly just curious to see what it was all really like. Besides demonstrations of key features at WWDC 2023, we hadn’t seen a lot of demonstrations of how the product actually functioned in a seamless demo. I wanted to find out the ‘tidbits’ of what it’s really like to use a spatial computer for myself, and certainly before a vast majority of Apple fanboys and the public at large.
These use cases all have worked out fine for me and I have loved my Vision Pro. All the use cases I envisioned for myself have worked well–and I’ve found many others. Specifically, I find Apple Immersive Video criminally underhyped. For those who have been to the Disney parks, think of it like being on the Soarin’ ride, but in 3D. The quality and immersion combined with the shooting and editing techniques and Spatial Audio in AirPods take your breath away. I particularly enjoyed Submerged, which made my heart pound and gave me some audible (at least I assume, I was wearing AirPods) gasps. As a film graduate, this tech makes the gears in my head turn–I want to be one of the first people to learn how to shoot for this new thing!
I do think the lack of developer support (and difficulty using your iPhone and thus the unsupported apps while in the headset) is my biggest problem with the device, and I think the eye tracking accuracy is a problem users don’t speak about enough. Overall, though, I am content with my purchase, no matter how many times I get called a sucker–even by my most Apple-loving friends.
A few controversies dampened launch week hype in the tech community, from launch day vulnerabilities to a bug that forced users to take their units to an Apple Store for a hard reset if they forgot their passwords. But there was no other scandal so concerning to me as ‘Crackgate.’
Just before the end of February–less than a month after launch–some users started reporting mysterious slivers in the exterior glass of their Vision Pros. They claimed they used their devices lightly and carefully and discovered the unit with a crack after not using it for some time. They ‘cracked up’ the problem to a possible bad batch of glass, structural issues or a bug that led the device to overheat when not in use.
I began religiously checking my unit to make sure it had not developed signs of a crack, and took extra care to never let it get too hot, to never leave it connected to its battery for too long while not in use, and to set it down carefully every single time. Even if it was a defect, I did not want to do anything that could trigger or accelerate the process.
Then the problem seemingly went away. Media outlets stopped covering it, users stopped reporting the problem, and there seemed to be no outcome to the situation–or at least not one covered by the tech blogs. Some online commenters even downplayed it as users refusing to accept responsibility for their carelessness. I sighed a breath of relief–I assumed that since a handful of users noticed the crack at the same time, and since media coverage had died down, that I was in the clear from facing the problem with my unit. Maybe it was just a bad batch of glass like those Reddit users claimed and I just did not get the affected part?
I continued using my Vision Pro as normal, taking it on flights, using it at work, and giving friends and family demos. But one thing about me is that I am always careful with my belongings. I have only broken one iPhone in my life and it was due to a bad bicycle wreck–not my carelessness. As a runner, a working TV journalist who handles a lot of heavy equipment, someone who is well-traveled and a friend known to be the life of every party, I think that’s a testament to how cautious I am.
The controversy could have escaped my mind until one recent day when I hopped in my Vision Pro to take a call–I love popping into unsuspecting video conferences with my Persona to give people a jumpscare. I took a selfie to send to my friend on the other end while I was wearing the headset (which is an art, by the way). I went on with my day–for several days, in fact–before I revisited the photo and noticed what appeared to be an unmistakable line on my Vision Pro. I took the unit out of the case and it confirmed my worst fears–Crackgate is real, and it’s still happening.
I had a pit in my stomach but I started Googling, looking for other users with similar experiences. I found some recent Reddit threads where users with affected units claimed that when they shared their stories, Apple Support techs offered to have their devices repaired under the one-year limited warranty, free of charge, just so long as the glass did not have a ‘point of impact’ that would indicate a hard hit. However, one Redditor claimed that an unlucky user had to pony up 800 dollars for the repair. I could not independently verify the authenticity of these claims, but I had hope I could get help.
I contacted Apple Support on iMessage on Friday, October 11. The friendly staff have always done their best to make things right for me–and done so with unbelievable kindness. I had never submitted anything for repair before, so I was unsure how to do it. I asked for help with my Apple Vision Pro, which would get me connected with a product specialist–not someone qualified to handle repair and warranty questions. They would then toss me over to an automated prompt from AppleCare to connect me to the right specialist. Only one problem–the AppleCare prompt doesn’t list the Vision Pro as a potential affected device–it’s simply missing from the list, even when you tap ‘More.’ So I would keep getting errors, like this:
I eventually got connected to the right person. I explained my problem, making sure to mention that I knew about other users’ problems and their claims of getting it covered under warranty. He or she responded with an answer that gave me hope: “If this is not related with accidental damage, it must be a manufacturing issue.” Progress! I ended up on a phone call, and the next support tech told me he would love to have someone take a look at it. There was only one problem–he suggested I take it to an Apple Store. The nearest one to me is at the St. Johns Town Center in Jacksonville, more than an hour away from my residence in Gainesville, Florida.
I explained my dilemma and he had to double check if there was some other way we could get the problem resolved. After a bit of silence, he told me they could mail me a repair kit for evaluation to see if I was eligible for a free repair; if so, they’d perform it. Finally some progress, but new nerves.
I received my repair kit on Monday, October 14. I backed up my device to iCloud and reset to factory settings before dissembling it–they only need the battery pack and actual unit without its straps or padding. I carefully followed the instructions, but discovered I was missing a protective sticker I was supposed to receive to cover the front glass in shipping. Since this was the part of my unit that needed repair, I didn’t want to risk looking careless to the support staff who received my headset without its covering and end up having to pay for the repair.
So what did I do? I called Apple Support. Again.
This meant hassling with the automated chatbot, overcoming the menus that are still missing Vision Pro options, and eventually coming across the right person. I ended up talking on the phone with a woman representing Apple Support on Monday, October 14. She had me share my screen with her and open my Camera app to show what I see. She said that the guide was pretty self-explanatory, so I opened up the box and even took out some of the moldings on the inside to prove the sticker was not hiding anywhere.
She ended up telling me that the sticker was not very substantial, and ‘probably’ would not prevent any damage that could happen in shipping. She told me I could replace it with a cloth I didn’t mind parting with–so I ended up using a paper towel. But I insisted that she made note of her advice in my file–I was not taking risks. By the time I placed my unit in the box, the crack was longer and more defined than ever. I shipped it off nonetheless and hoped for the best.
Apple Support’s site shows their techs received my unit on Wednesday, October 16, at 8:35 a.m. They marked my repair as complete at 6:55 p.m. and had it shipped back out at 10:05 p.m. Quite hasty–perhaps suspiciously hasty? Even after the support team marked the job as complete, I was still nervous I would end up receiving my unit in its same state, with a note reading that my problem was not covered under warranty.
Delivery crews arrived with my unit on Thursday, October 17, while I was not home, and finally successfully delivered it on Friday, October 18–one week after submitting my request. I opened my box to a note on top reading that my repair was a success. I pulled out my headset to find it looking shiny and good as new. What a relief! I now sit in the early hours of Saturday, October 19, just a week and a day after sending in my complaint, with my Vision Pro on my face, fully set-up and restored from backup as if nothing ever happened.
So finally, this story has a resolution. After the ‘Crackgate’ scandal seemed to disappear from the media and I was forced to wonder what I would do if it happened to me, it did–and now I can use my platform to help bring potential other worried Vision Pro owners some peace of mind as well.
I am grateful to the Redditors who shared their stories and did not let the story die for those who Googled hard enough. I am grateful to the Apple Support staff, who not only showed me the utmost kindness and understanding across our multiple iMessage conversations and two phone calls, but also reduced my time without my device by covering next-day shipping three times–for my repair kit, for my damaged headset, and my fixed one, too. I am grateful that Apple, as a company, cares to make these things right, especially for early adopters and fanboys who might be less likely to be steered away from a product due to bad service.
But most of all, I’m grateful that I took the risk of being an early adopter–and that my day-one Vision Pro is back on my face.
