Vision Pros: Review Prep, AppleCare One, and an Alien Environment

I had a fun chat with my friend Tim Chaten on the latest episode of the Vision Pros podcast. We talked about our experiences with the visionOS 26 beta so far, how I’m preparing for my review this fall, Apple’s new device warranty program (a great deal for Vision Pro owners), and the new Alien: Earth environment in Disney+. Our Alien discussion also prompted a hilarious segment on this week’s Magic Rays of Light. 😅

My thanks to Tim for having me back on the show.

Vision Pro’s New Guest User Mode

One last link post today, I promise. My effort to write more about the Vision Pro continues, this time with an article at MacStories detailing the changes to Guest User mode in visionOS 2.4. Guest User has been a significant pain point for me personally and for the Vision Pro user base as a whole since the device’s launch, so it’s refreshing to see the feature improved so much in this update. I wouldn’t say it’s perfect, but it’s certainly come a long way, making the Vision Pro much more sharable in the process.

Writing this article was a reminder to me of how different it is covering visionOS than any other operating system. Testing Guest User required me to recruit Katherine as an assistant – at least, until I figured out how to trick Optic ID by squinting my eyes. Also, the screenshot you see at the top of the article took way more effort than you might think. It involved an Xcode update, changing out the physical strap on my Vision Pro, and trying to hold my head just right to catch the window level and straight on. It made me appreciate the ease of screenshots on my other devices, for sure.

I’ll just consider this article a warmup for my summer coverage of visionOS 3, which by all indications seems like it’s going to be a big update.

Vision Pros Appearance

Tim Chaten was kind enough to have me back on the most recent episode of Vision Pros to talk about visionOS 2.4 and changes to my Vision Pro setup. It’s always a pleasure to chat with Tim, especailly regarding a platform we’re both so enthused about. If you’re interested in what’s happening with the Vision Pro, his podcast is a great place to start. You can listen to our conversation in your podcast player or on YouTube.

AppStories

I had the privilege of being a guest on this week's episode of AppStories. My thanks to Federico and John for having me. It was a really fun discussion that included how and why I track different things in my life, my evolving approach to journaling, and my day-to-day use of the Apple Vision Pro as my primary computer. I also made everyone listen to me talk about Mello Yello in the members-only pre-show.

If you're into apps, technology, and Apple, I think you'll love AppStories. And if you enjoy reading what I write about here, well, this is a lot like that, but in spoken form and with better jokes courtesy of Federico and John. You can listen to the episosde in any podcast player or watch the video version on YouTube now.

Vision Pro Accessories

Aside from my visionOS 2 review, I haven't written much about the Apple Vision Pro in the year that I've had it. That's despite the fact that I really do love the thing and use it to do my professional and creative work nearly every day. I went into some of my reasons for being hesitant to write about the Vision Pro in a recent episode of Magic Rays of Light, but one year in, I feel like it's time for me to devote more of my public creative work to the device, just as it's become a bigger and bigger part of my personal computing life.

My first Vision Pro-centered piece was published yesterday as part of the Club MacStories January Monthly Log. I wrote about three accessories I've recently added to my setup to solve friction points with using the Vision Pro day-to-day. None of them have to do with comfort or fit; rather, they're focused on making the device more convenient and accessible, the way we've come to expect modern computers to be.

If that sounds interesting to you, I hope you'll check out the column. I really enjoyed getting to write about the Vision Pro, and I look forward to sharing more about how I'm using it soon.