Apple revealed an alternative head strap for Vision Pro that will be included in the box.
When Vision Pro was announced at WWDC back in June the only strap seen was the one Apple calls the Solo Knit Band, except for one marketing shot where a side-to-side top strap was also present alongside it.
Alongside announcing the preorder and launch dates for Vision Pro today, Apple revealed that the headset will come with two straps: the Solo Knit Band and another called the Dual Loop Band.
- The Solo Knit Band only features a back strap, but it has a large padding area which Apple says is "3D knitted" to create "a unique rib structure that provides cushioning, breathability, and stretch".
- The Dual Loop Band has a thinner back strap that sits lower on the back of your head, but also has a side-to-side top strap to better distribute the weight.
It's unclear whether the cushier Solo Knit Band can be combined with the top strap from the Dual Loop Band for a hybrid third option, as seen in a recent patent.
Back in June Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who reliably reported many details of the upcoming headset before it was officially revealed or even acknowledged to exist by Apple, reported that "many" testers found Vision Pro "too heavy" after multiple hours of continuous use. We found the weight to be potentially straining in our hands-on too. Different people have differently shaped heads that affect the comfort of XR devices, so by including two strap types Apple may be hoping that at least one of them will be comfortable to buyers.
The front-heavy feeling is also a problem with many other existing headsets, to be clear. Meta and many third parties sell rigid replacement straps for Quest 2 and Quest 3 with a counterweight to better distribute the weight across your head, for example.
David Heaney
Apple Vision Pro will launch in the US on February 2, and preorders will open next Friday.
