The Apple Vision Pro continues to dominate Apple news, and it has now been on sale long enough that we are starting to learn more about its limitations. For one thing, it is not for everyone. Zac Hall of 9to5Mac—who stood in line with me at the New Orleans Apple Store when the device went on sale on February 2—reports that it appears that he cannot use an Apple Vision Pro because ZEISS doesn’t support his prescription. I had this concern myself because my eyesight is poor, and even with glasses my eyesight isn’t great. But fortunately for me, ZEISS supports my prescription. If you are wondering whether this might be a problem for you, there is a page on the ZEISS website where you can enter your prescription and find out if it is supported. For more information on this topic, I recommend that you read the comments to Zac’s post, which includes thoughts provided by eye doctors who discuss the condition called anisometropia and others who suggested some possible workarounds that Zac and others might be able to use. And now, the rest of the news of note from the past week:
- David Sparks of MacSparky has written a few posts on the Vision Pro and this one, about using it to be productive, is my favorite.
- Christopher Mims of the Wall Street Journal wrote an excellent article explaining why the Vision Pro shows such promise as a device for getting work done.
- In a long article for Apple Insider, Mike Wuerthele considers which professionals can best get their work done with a Vision Pro.
- So far, I haven’t spent much time doing real work with my Apple Vision Pro, partly because I’m waiting for Mobile Device Management support to connect to the networks used by my law firm. But when I have used my Vision Pro to do work, I’ve noticed that it would be nice to have a clock visible at all times so that I could glance at it to see the current time. (There is a clock in the Control Center, but to see it you first need to look up at the top of the screen and select the icon to open the Control Center.) Federico Viticci of MacStories identifies some of his favorite digital clock apps for the Vision Pro.
- Things is the app that I use on my iPhone and iPad for task management. Viticci reviews the new Things app for the Vision Pro.
- Apple released its first update for the Apple Vision Pro since it went on sale, visionOS 1.0.3, as noted by Jason Cross of Macworld. The big new change is an option to reset the device if you have forgotten your passcode.
- J. D. Biersdorfer of the New York Times recommends apps that you can use to give photos or videos a vintage look.
- Tom Corwin of The Post and Courier of Charleston, SC—which I just learned is the South’s oldest daily newspaper, having been founded in 1803—reports that an alert from an Apple Watch led a man without any symptoms to discover that he was suffering from atrial fibrillation and needed immediate attention. Unlike most of the reports of this nature that I cite from time to time, this article has a ton of interesting information in it, including comments from both doctors and Apple and even some words from Tim Cook, so consider checking it out.
- I’ve seen lots of reports of people using an AirTag to recover an item, but I had not yet seen a report of an AirTag being used to find a stolen golf cart until I read this report from Chance Miller of 9to5Mac.
- And finally, Apple recently unveiled at the 2024 Winter Television Critics Association press tour some of the new and returning shows that will be in Apple TV+ in 2024. And oh my goodness there is a lot of content. The New Look, Masters of the Air (which I’ve already started and I’m enjoying), Presumed Innocent (one of my favorite books when I was younger), Constellation, Manhunt, Palm Royale (from Kristen Wiig), and so many more new shows, plus new seasons of old favorites like Loot and Trying and many more, there is going to be a lot to watch. Here is a sizzle reel from Apple:
The a-fib thing is no joke at all. My wife was suffering from occasional chest pain and an irregular heartbeat a few years ago, but the doctors could never find anything, most likely because it went away before she could see them. One of them suggested she get an Apple Watch so she could record what was happening. Some time later, we were visiting relatives, one of whom is a nurse and the other of whom is a retired fireman. Her Apple Watch suddenly reported her heart rate was up to 174 beats per minute as we were leaving a restaurant. They recognized the signs of a-fib, listened with a stethoscope when we got back to their house nearby, and immediately called 911; she wound up spending two nights in a hospital and was confirmed to have a-fib (later addressed by surgery). That Apple Watch may have saved her life. One big difference from the linked story is that she WAS having symptoms, she just didn’t know what the symptoms were telling her. Also, interestingly, prior to her second surgery, the doctors were going to have her wear a heart monitor for two weeks, but then they saw the data on her iPhone as recorded by her Apple Watch and they said that was sufficient!
What a story! Thank you for sharing this, and I hope that your wife is doing much better as a result of the surgery.
-Jeff