5 Apple Vision Pro issues: Reports of ‘spontaneous cracking’ and more pile up

The Vision Pro, which hit store shelves on Feb. 2, launched with electrifying fanfare — and some criticism about its $3,500 value — as Apple stepped into a brand spankin’ new product category: mixed reality.

Now that several weeks have passed since the Vision Pro’s debut, early adopters have had some time with the AR/VR headset. Spotted by MacRumors, some Vision Pro-owning Reddit users are claiming that they’re experiencing spontaneous cracking.

Vision Pro faces ‘spontaneous cracking’ claims

The first Reddit report about spontaneous cracking — meaning the Vision Pro hadn’t suffered any impact to cause the defect — made an appearance three days after the Vision Pro launch.

“For the last 3 days I have never used my Vision Pro outside of my bed, and whenever I am not using it, I always have the soft outer cover on and the unit has never been dropped or anything like that, and I just noticed the crack last night. I wonder what caused the crack, and whether it’s a manufacturing defect or not,” Reddit user Wohinbistdu said.

Since then, there have been several other threads with Vision Pro owners expressing similar issues.

What’s peculiar is that the cracks are appearing in the same location: from the top (hairline) to the bottom of the headset (nose bridge). It’s also worth noting that the hairline crack appears where the Vision Pro’s curvy contour is most pronounced.

Engadget claims that its Apple Vision Pro unit has a crack in the middle, too.

However, based on these reports (a small sample size of the Vision Pro’s customer base), it’s difficult to discern whether this issue is widespread.

4 more common issues among Redditors with complaints

In addition to spontaneous cracking, another common report we’ve been seeing on Reddit and Apple’s online Support Community are issues with sound.

“Bought my device about 3 days ago and sound gave out. For some reason, if it’s charging overnight the speaker band will stop working. Happened to a few people i’ve read online as well,” Unlucky-Print-1548, a Redditor, said.

You can find Reddit threads with similar issues here, here, here, here, and here, with many commenters chiming in to commiserate with the original poster. We’ve also spotted Redditors frequently expressing frustration with eye tracking, poor low-light performance (it’s more difficult to track your inputs in such conditions), and glare issues.

Again, it’s difficult to say whether these issues are pervasive. However, these are the most common complaints we’ve seen among Vision Pro-owning Redditors.

Still, don’t let these reports affect your perception of the Apple Vision Pro. After all, this is Apple’s first foray into mixed-reality hardware, so first-generation quirks are expected. As we mentioned in our review roundup, many praised the Vision Pro as the best head-mounted display on the market.