Vision Pro (M5)

The headline change with this refresh is comfort rather than looks: it now ships with a single Dual Knit Band instead of the previous two-strap options. The upper and lower sections adjust independently with one dial, and small weights sewn into the back help balance the headset's weight more evenly on your face. It's Apple's direct answer to the most common complaint about the original model, that it got tiring to wear for long stretches. The band can also be bought separately for around $99 to fit the older 2024 headset, though Apple isn't offering any trade-in toward the new model.

The new M5 chip makes the whole experience feel snappier, apps open faster, web pages load quicker, and tasks like setting up a Persona or generating a Spatial Scene finish roughly twice as fast. The display can now refresh at up to 120Hz (up from 100Hz), which shows up mainly as smoother motion when you're using Mac Virtual Display, along with a small boost in overall sharpness. Battery life gets a modest bump too, up to two and a half hours of general use or three hours of video playback per charge, about 30 minutes more than before in either case, though it's still the same external battery pack on a cable rather than anything built in.

Nothing changed on the outside: no new colours, no size changes, and the same set of cameras and sensors as the original. It launched alongside visionOS 26, which brought home screen widgets, new Personas, an interactive "Jupiter" environment, and Apple Intelligence support for more languages. Apple also points to over a million apps now built for the headset, plus a growing library of Apple Immersive content with live NBA games due to arrive.

Reviewers were broadly in agreement that this is a nice-to-have set of refinements rather than a reason for existing owners to upgrade.