Vision Pro Light Seal fitting process needs refinements.
In the past 17 days, we have driven more than 1,000 miles trying to get the proper Light Seal for our Apple Vision Pro. What we’ve determined is that one size does not fit all and that Apple needs to figure out a better process for this part of the Apple Vision Pro. I do want to say that with a couple of small exceptions, the Apple employees we worked with were trying to help as much as they could. We did have a few store employees who didn’t seem to be very knowledgeable, but they were always considerate and trying to help. Here is a quick summary of our journey.
Picking Up the Apple Vision Pro
The closest Apple Store to us is approximately 120 miles away. We live in a metro area of approximately 350,000+ people. And, even though we believe there is a good market here for one, Evansville, Indiana sits as a hub in the middle of other major cities that do have Apple Stores. Below is a list of Apple Stores that are closest to Evansville.
- Louisville, KY → ~120 miles
- St. Louis, MO → ~165 miles
- Nashville, TN → ~160 miles
- Indianapolis, IN → ~170 miles
- Cincinnati, OH → ~220 miles
- Lexington, KY → ~220 miles
If you aren’t aware, there are two ways to get the Apple Vision Pro (AVP) – store pickup or direct shipping. We did not pre-order an AVP so a direct shipment was estimated at approximately two weeks out. Naturally, we wanted to have one in our hands quicker, and taking a trip to Louisville (Apple Oxmoor) wasn’t out of the question. So, we placed the order online for in-store pickup and hopped into the car.
While it’s not necessary, I would suggest scheduling a Vision Pro demo at the time that you pick up your order because that ensures that you will have one-on-one time with one of their specialists if you have any questions about set-up or Light Seal fit. After all of our experiences with this process, I HIGHLY recommend you give yourself enough time to try on different Light Seals especially if you are like us and don’t live close to an Apple Store.
When we picked up the AVP, we did the demo in-store, but the employee didn’t seem very enthusiastic about the product and was just going through the motions instead of trying to build a relationship with us as the customer. While I understand that store employees are more than likely hourly workers, I strongly feel that those who are being assigned to work selling a $3,500+ product should probably be good at relationship-selling.
On this trip, we arrived at the store about 45 minutes before they closed. So, while we were allowed to do the demo and ask some questions, we did feel somewhat rushed through the process. We asked about the Light Seal fit and if there was any chance that the scan could be wrong. The employee said, “Oh no, if this is the size the scan provided, then it’s correct.” So, we left the store with the AVP and a 21W Light Seal.
Return Visit to Apple Oxmoor
We knew that we had a 2-week window to return the AVP if we weren’t 100% happy with it and while the functionality and mesmerizing visuals were remarkable, we were on the fence because of the comfort of wearing it for long periods of time.
My fiancé (Nick) is the primary user and right now he is recovering from foot surgery. So, it’s actually the perfect time to spend quality time with the AVP because he has a bone stimulator treatment (3 hours per day) that he has to sit with a device on his foot. He puts the AVP on and watches YouTube videos, reads tech articles, answers emails, and all kinds of other productive tasks. He’s been really happy with it and had little problems with the technology — other than the fit of the AVP on his face.
The 21W Light Seal ended up pressing on his nose too much to the point where it was wearing a sore there. We did extensive research to see if using the Dual Loop band would be better and that ended up giving him headaches because the width of that band was just pressing into his head too much.
We found some mods online where people were 3D printing adapters that allow a user to wear two Knit Bands in a similar fashion to the Dual Loop Band (one band on top of the head and one around the back). A lot of people were reporting that this mod was helping them take the pressure off their faces and that it made wearing the AVP much more comfortable.
So, we decided to give it a try. The only caveat was that we needed a second Knit Band. This was at the 10-day mark. We got the adapters printed and decided to make the drive to Apple Oxmoor the next day. Nick did the face scan again to see if he would get a different size. He did. It suggested the 22W. So, we pre-ordered the 22W and the small Knit Band for in-store pickup.
I want to add here that before each trip, we called the Apple Store and talked to either a store support person or a manager to explain where we were in the process and we were assured each time that if we came to the store we could be helped. On this visit to Oxmoor, we arrived in the middle of the day and had plenty of time to try things out and work with the store employee.
We did have a different rep and she commiserated with us about the scan not being 100% accurate. Nick did the scan in-store and still got the 22W. The employee brought a demo AVP out with that Light Seal size and let us try it out. Nick did think it felt better than the 21W and even showed the employee the 3D adapter we had printed. She thought it was unique and not a bad idea. Even though we had plenty of time in the store, I still felt a little rushed. We were there on a Saturday, which is a busy retail day in general, but again, if you have someone coming to look at a product like the AVP or any of the top-flight products, you want them to have a first-class experience.
We left the store with a 22W and the original 21W in hand. Nick used the AVP in the car on the way home with the 22W and the second Knit Band attached to the adapter. He said it was much more pleasant.
Day 15 – Third Trip to Apple
On day 14, we decided we were definitely keeping the AVP — but Nick still wasn’t sure about the Light Seal fit. He said that even though the pressure was taken off his nose, he felt a lot more pressure around his forehead now. After doing even more research on how the Light Seals fit, Nick decided to scan his face again. This time, he got a 33W. He did it three more times and got either 33W or 21W as the size. We knew this wasn’t right at all. So, using the Apple Store app, we looked to see what stores (from the list above) had which Light Seal sizes available for in-store pickup.
PRO TIP: If you call the Apple Store, they will tell you that they can’t provide inventory amounts. This is because they have no way of knowing what is being held/sold online and in-store at that moment. If you tell them that you used the online order system and it shows they have it available for in-store pickup, they will usually confirm what they have at that moment. Also, if you pre-purchase online and you get to the store and no longer want what you ordered, they can cancel the order.
Because we were getting so many variations on the face scan, we called Apple Green Hills in Nashville, TN. We thought we could make that trip easy enough and they showed the sizes we wanted to look at. The support person we talked to said they checked with the manager and that we wouldn’t have any trouble with exchanging the Light Seal and they would allow us to try on different sizes — even if we didn’t scan for that size. It finally felt like we were getting somewhere!
We made the trip to Nashville and unfortunately, we got to the store about 15 minutes before they closed because we ran into an accident on the highway. Fortunately, the staff was wonderful there an the AVP specialist we had didn’t make us feel rushed at all. He genuinely seemed to care about the outcome of the transaction. We apologized for keeping him late and he waved us off saying, “It’s no problem at all. We want to make sure you have the right product.” The only downside was that when we got there, he didn’t have any idea why we were there. So, the store communication seemed to break down again.
He did tell us that we shouldn’t have had to purchase a Light Seal. They should have exchanged it. So, he gave us a refund for the one we purchased and did a ‘swap’ for the size we wanted. The downside was that the size we hoped to walk away with was the 25W, which they had in stock when we left Evansville — but they didn’t have when we got there. When we talked to the store by phone, we asked if we should purchase the Light Seal we hoped would work and they said, “While I can’t give exact levels, it looks like there shouldn’t be any problem with getting what you want.”
Since they didn’t have the 25W in stock, the rep we were working with suggested using the 26W with the standard cushion (the plus cushion adds a little depth). We left with the 26W.
In addition to the Light Seal, the rep actually showed us the proper way to fit the band to your head and while he thought the 3D-printed adapter was cool, he said that we shouldn’t need to use that. He told us that you don’t need to ‘crank’ the band down and that a proper fit should be secure, but not tight. We’ve always been firm believers that if Apple designed something a certain way, you should be able to use it that way. This is exactly why Nick doesn’t use a case on his phone.
Day 16 – Back to Oxmoor
After less than 24 hours with the 26W, Nick said, “This isn’t right. It feels way too big. I could adjust it using the second Knit Band, but I shouldn’t have to do it that way.” We did the scans again and in the same position with the same background, Nick got 33W and 21W — again. We moved him so that he had a different background and he got a 22W and then a 33W. He had tried the 33W in Nashville and knew that wasn’t right at all.
We found a video on YouTube that provides a simple explanation of how the seals are sized and should fit. The Light Seal sizes are not standardized and Apple doesn’t provide any indication of what the measurements are if you were to use a measuring tape instead of their scan. As it turns out, the first number indicates the angle of the light seal (1 being closer to your forehead and pushing the bottom outward; 3 being farther away from your forehead and pushing the bottom inward), the second number indicates the depth, which affects your field of view, and the letter dictates whether it is narrow or wide.
With that in mind, we did an Apple Store inventory search for the following sizes — 11-14W, and 23-25W. We called Oxmoor and told them what the issue was — in depth. The manager approved holding the sizes we wanted. We got in the car and headed back to Louisville. We arrived more than an hour before they closed and Nick was able to try nearly every size available. He even tried Narrow sizes.
At the end of the day, he told me that the 22W felt ‘ok’ but not quite perfect. We walked away from Oxmoor for the third time with a 23W and he wore it all the way home. When we got home he said, “I’m still not sure if this is the right size, but it’s pretty close.” We think Nick might be in some weird half-size between 22W and 23W, but that doesn’t exist!
Conclusion
The Apple Vision Pro is a remarkable device and this is the worst its ever going to be. It’s only going to get better through software and hardware improvements in future generations. That said, the process for getting a proper fit on the Light Seal needs to be improved and something needs to be done for customers who purchase the AVP and need additional support. We love Apple and have always been a big fan of product releases and follow-up support. At the end of the day, we are just exhausted trying to get the right fit, which is extra work we shouldn’t have to do. Do I have any suggestions for this? Other than physically being fitted for custom Light Seals, I don’t.
