I have been watching a number of tech and near-tech commentators struggling with how to react to Apple's release of the Vision Pro. People who were initially enthralled are now wondering about the less than trivial cost of the device while others, who had not given it a second thought until now, are looking at it and recognizing ways that it might work for them in tones that are far from FOMO. (This reaction is a good example of the kind of thing I am talking about.)

I think that the primary reason for the unusually unstable nature of these reactions this cycle is Monre than understandable. These creators, commentators, and journalists are in an unenviable position. Their job is to provide viewers, readers, and listeners with the information they need to understand what the Vision Pro really is and if it is worth paying attention to.

And they can't.

This isn't a failing on their part. The usual product release playbook doesn't apply here due to the nature of the product. The usual release event for a new piece of tech involves showing the audience (in the hall and via a video feed) the way a new product looks and how it works. Yes, the devices are blown up on the screen but what you see there approximates what you will see when the device is in front of you.

But that won't work with the Vision Pro. The look of the device — the easiest thing to show — is the least interesting part of the story. The flattened depictions of what a user sees while using a Vision Pro may give you an idea of what to expect but, based on first hand accounts, doesn’t capture the experience of the 3D and wrap around images.

As a result, a standard keynote presentation won't work. Neither, I suspect, would the normal kind of review because of the challenge inherent in getting the experience across. It’s going to require the kind of creative leap Serenity Caldwell took in her animated review of the 2018 iPad.* Just don’t ask me what that kind of leap loos like.

But whatever form those leaps take, they require more time than anyone has really had.

This may explain why Apple almost feels like it is bypassing the tech media and is attempting to reach consumers directly — providing an unmediated trial for those who can get to an Apple Store. It’s not because they want to sidestep the tech pundits. It's because that the Vision Pro will need to be experienced more than prior products.

* I suspect — but have no way of knowing — that she was involved in Apple's "A Guided Tour of the Vision Pro” but have nothing beyond a sense that her iPad review was cut from the same cloth as this walkthrough.