Prescription lens inserts: Info & Questions

[James.K.Polk]

So I got my lenses and the 23W light seal yesterday evening and spent a few hours using the lenses with the 21W I already had last night and this morning then just switched from the 21W to the 23W and right now I don’t notice much of a difference. I got the notice that may face was too close twice wearing the 21W after putting the device on but was able to click past it both times and everything felt OK to me. I haven’t gotten the same message yet with the the 23W so from that aspect it’s made a small difference but so far I haven’t really noticed much of a difference in the FOV, the glare or my ability to control the device between the two.

The limited FOV is a little less noticeable in the 21W but it’s still there for me and doesn’t bother me as I’ve warn VR headsets in the past and knew what I was getting into when I bought it so at this point it’s kind of six of one and a half dozen of the other. Not much of a difference and certainly no need for the 23W light seal at this point. I can say I have had a noticably better experience with the lenses regardless of the light seal size though admittedly my prescription has changed a bit and my new contacts aren’t here yet so I was using my old ones. If the additional light seal were closer to $100 than to $200 I’d keep them both but given the costs I’ll probably be returning the 23W unless my experience with the 21W starts going downhill and I notice eye strain after using it for several hours. With the 21W and contacts I’ve yet to develop any kind of eye strain even after using the device for long periods of time without a break in between so if that changes and I start to feel eye strain after a few days I’ll switch to the 23W and if that clears it back up then I’ll keep it and let my wife use the 21W or use it myself when wearing contacts.

Since the general consensus seems to be most people with lenses and a 23W can use a 21W just fine and many have a better experience with the 21W than the 23W I’d be surprised if you weren’t in the same boat yourself.

Thanks! I'll try and update Monday when they arrive.

 

[Macaholic868]

Even with the 23W I’m now getting the notification that my eyes are too close sometimes when I take the Vision Pro off and put it back on. I just swapped back to the 21W and will test it for eye strain this afternoon / evening and for a couple of more days this week and if nothing develops then the 23W will be going back. I think those who have said you can do the 21W if Apple’s in app face scan tells you that you need a 23W with lenses and a 21W without them are 100% correct. The other thing I want to look for is glare. It seems there’s been a little less glare for me in the 23W than the 21W. I’ll be on the look out for that as well. I really didn’t notice the glare much at all wearing contacts with the 21W but I do recall feeling like I was seeing more yesterday after putting in the lenses. It could also be that I’m more aware of the issue now through. I’ve been doing a lot of reading about users complaints lately and how the glare has been the deal breaker for some who are taking it back so I‘m hoping I was just way more in tune to that issue an actively looking for it yesterday when I hadn’t been previously. I have notice some glare since getting the device but not enough to consider it a deal breaker and I want to make sure it stays that way. If I’m dropping a chunk of change on lenses so I don’t have to wear contacts all of the time it won’t be worth it if that introduces enough glare for me to notice it where I didn’t previously. We’ll see on that one….

 

[Macaholic868]

Thanks! I'll try and update Monday when they arrive.

I’ll be interested to know how it goes.

 

[HDFan]

I assume that you want your eyes as close as possible to the lenses without impeding blinking,

I’m now getting the notification that my eyes are too close

You'll likely get the notification way before eye collision with the lenses.

 

[James.K.Polk]

Thanks! I'll try and update Monday when they arrive.

So…

I got my prescription lenses in (I’m farsighted, approximately +2.5 with some variance). First! I’ve only used them for like 15 minutes, but 21W works fine, comfort-wise and (again, limited testing) I have not gotten any pop-ups about distance. Nice.

Edit: Took off the headset and put it back on… got the “too close” warning. Will try the thicker cushion.

Edit 2: W+ did work, though I have a more noticeable gap at the nose? Hmm.

Performance-wise… the lenses help me see the “virtual” (UI) stuff way better. Menus, apps, screens - much clearer. Looks like my glasses. But, pass-through is way, way worse for stuff up close. Like, I can’t read my Watch (which I could before). What’s going on here? Anyone know?

 

[Timo_Existencia]

Just to share my experience…

I wear progressive readers that I buy for cheap on Amazon. They are great, and that’s all I really need. My distance vision is great, it’s only up to a meter away that I need the readers.

SO…I bought the readers at Apple, the 2.00 to 2.5 readers, since that’s what I normally wear.

For the most part, they worked well. Stuff close up was clear, but I did tend to notice that things in the distance, for example, the branches on trees in the Environments, such as in Joshua Tree and Mt. Hood…the branches looked a tiny bit blurry. At first I thought maybe that’s just the resolution that the environments come in and this is as good as it gets.

However, just before I flew home from Miami to Guatemala, I decided to do an actual eye exam. The results were a bit different than what my readers give me, so I placed an order for the prescription lenses. They just arrived today and hey! Things in the distance look better!

The moral of the story: If you wear readers and haven’t bothered to actually do an eye exam in a while, and if you notice any blurriness…you may want to get an exam and order prescription lenses.

 

[Macaholic868]

There was no need to change from the 21W to the 23W for use with my lenses as the Apple Store app had suggested. I just put everything back in the box and printed the return label. I’ll use the $200 toward a travel case or a second battery.

 

[gerald.d]

So just a brief comment following my fitting experience yesterday, and echoing what a number of people have said in this thread.

Both my personal scan and that which they did in the Apple Store recommended a base 21W light seal, upped to a 25W for using with optical inserts.

Night and day difference between the two with the inserts. The 21W is way better. If I'd ordered remotely and not had the opportunity to test out different sizes, and had gone with the recommended 25W, I would have returned the device.

I do worry about the number of people who may be ordering these things with what are very clearly going to be the wrong light seals.

 

[Macaholic868]

So just a brief comment following my fitting experience yesterday, and echoing what a number of people have said in this thread.

Both my personal scan and that which they did in the Apple Store recommended a base 21W light seal, upped to a 25W for using with optical inserts.

Night and day difference between the two with the inserts. The 21W is way better. If I'd ordered remotely and not had the opportunity to test out different sizes, and had gone with the recommended 25W, I would have returned the device.

I do worry about the number of people who may be ordering these things with what are very clearly going to be the wrong light seals.

Agreed. That’s the #1 reason I held off for a day in favor of picking mine up at an Apple Store versus having it sent to me on launch day. I wanted to make sure I got the right light seal for use with contacts or vision correction surgery if I decide to have it done. I know I wasn’t going to drop the money for optical inserts unless I decided to keep the device and read more about how the inserts worked and people’s experience with them. I’m glad I got fitted for the 21W and had one on hand because had I ordered the device using Apple’s scan with the lenses I’d have had a 25W light seal sent my way and probably wouldn’t have thought to drive down to the Apple Store to check out other light seal sizes.

 

[thatsmyfish]

So just a brief comment following my fitting experience yesterday, and echoing what a number of people have said in this thread.

Both my personal scan and that which they did in the Apple Store recommended a base 21W light seal, upped to a 25W for using with optical inserts.

Night and day difference between the two with the inserts. The 21W is way better. If I'd ordered remotely and not had the opportunity to test out different sizes, and had gone with the recommended 25W, I would have returned the device.

I do worry about the number of people who may be ordering these things with what are very clearly going to be the wrong light seals.

Agreed. That’s the #1 reason I held off for a day in favor of picking mine up at an Apple Store versus having it sent to me on launch day. I wanted to make sure I got the right light seal for use with contacts or vision correction surgery if I decide to have it done. I know I wasn’t going to drop the money for optical inserts unless I decided to keep the device and read more about how the inserts worked and people’s experience with them. I’m glad I got fitted for the 21W and had one on hand because had I ordered the device using Apple’s scan with the lenses I’d have had a 25W light seal sent my way and probably wouldn’t have thought to drive down to the Apple Store to check out other light seal sizes.

What did you find better? Fit or glare?

 

[Macaholic868]

What did you find better? Fit or glare?

I honestly couldn’t tell much of a difference in terms of fit. I never noticed any kind of glare with the 21W but did with the 25W and I found the FOV to seem smaller in the 25W than it seems to be in the 21W. I don’t think a 25W would have been a total deal breaker for me but the 21W is a better experience wether I’m using the optical inserts or wearing contacts.

 

[gerald.d]

What did you find better? Fit or glare?

Neither really. It’s about the clarity at the periphery of your vision. The 21W is marginally more comfortable because the center of gravity of the Vision Pro is nearer your face, but that’s a minor benefit.

The test I did was to open up the Apple TV app and expand the window so it almost filled your field of view. Then look at the text in the top left corner.

With the 25W, it was distorted and blurry.

With the 21W, it was razor sharp.

 

[0s and 1s]

I placed an order for the lenses and my Apple Store order shows that it’s set to arrive between Feb 26-28, however the UPS shipping notification shows this “Your package is pending release from a Government Agency…” notice.

I assume that these are stuck in customs but hoping this doesn’t take forever to arrive. Anyone else with a similar experience?

 

[TLewis]

I assume that these are stuck in customs but hoping this doesn’t take forever to arrive. Anyone else with a similar experience?

Apple’s delivery estimates tend to be pretty accurate. Although, if you get lucky, you might get it a day or two earlier.

 

[AJRimages]

Mine were stuck in customs (either in China or Hong Kong), but moved very quickly once released. They arrived in SoCal within 5 days of uploading my prescription.

 

[0s and 1s]

Funny enough, I received an update the next day that it was cleared and set to arrive two days earlier. Thanks all!

 

[sdsvtdriver]

I haven't received my AVP yet, but got the prescription inserts. Are they supposed to be basically the same as my glasses? I hold them up to my eye as if I'm using them as glasses and they don't seem to do much (anything?)

 

[HDFan]

Are they supposed to be basically the same as my glasses?

Yes.

 

[fatTribble]

Just to share experiences, my prescription was accepted in about 10 minutes on a Friday. I had the lenses the next Tuesday. Very fast!

Although I could use VP completely fine without lenses, I was getting slight headaches and motion sickness. That pretty much went away with the lenses.

 

[Josh Puetz]

Been using my prescription inserts(a very mild prescription: 0 and -0.5 with 0.75 cylinder for astigmatism), and it’s great so far with one little problem: my Home Screen appears slightly angled or skewed, tiled backward from me. The issue only seems to happen with the Home Screen (every other window is fine), and only happens with my Zeiss inserts in: as soon as I take them out the home screen is back to properly aligned.

Has anybody else encountered this? I’ve tried recalibrating and toggling travel mode without a fix.

 

[Hooshka]

Been using my prescription inserts(a very mild prescription: 0 and -0.5 with 0.75 cylinder for astigmatism), and it’s great so far with one little problem: my Home Screen appears slightly angled or skewed, tiled backward from me. The issue only seems to happen with the Home Screen (every other window is fine), and only happens with my Zeiss inserts in: as soon as I take them out the home screen is back to properly aligned.

Has anybody else encountered this? I’ve tried recalibrating and toggling travel mode without a fix.

I and many others have the same issue with skewed windows with the inserts in. It seems to be that the software doesn't account for the prescription (and potentially the astigmatism) properly and makes the windows skewed. Hopefully it will be addressed in an update.

 

[Rainerm]

I haven't received my AVP yet, but got the prescription inserts. Are they supposed to be basically the same as my glasses? I hold them up to my eye as if I'm using them as glasses and they don't seem to do much (anything?)

No there not the same as your glasses.
You can’t use them to read.
They are adjusted for the lens that is already in your AVP.
For example the 2.0 to2.75 reader is actually more like an 0.75. That is somewhere here documented. The ordered strength and the actual strength.
I would believe that this is also the case for prescription inserts.
So if you try your outside of the AVP it wouldn’t Work. You have to wait untill you can actually put them in your device to test.

At least my 2.0 to 2.75 readers don’t work for me outside the AVP.

 

[CodeSpyder]

I just noticed that my insert Axis numbers are off by one from my uploaded prescription. My uploaded right/left axis is 115/105 and the ZEISS axis numbers are 116/104. I don't see any add numbers in the ZEISS prescription either. * Edit * I called ZEISS and was told I'd get a call in one to two hours but they never called back. I'm talking with Apple now. *Edit 2* Sending in my inserts and they're sending me another set which hopefully have the right prescription.

 

[TLewis]

I just noticed that my insert Axis numbers are off by one from my uploaded prescription. My uploaded right/left axis is 115/105 and the ZEISS axis numbers are 116/104. I don't see any add numbers in the ZEISS prescription either. * Edit * I called ZEISS and was told I'd get a call in one to two hours but they never called back. I'm talking with Apple now. *Edit 2* Sending in my inserts and they're sending me another set which hopefully have the right prescription.

I'm not sure anyone can tell a 1 degree difference, but now I'm wondering what the manufacturing tolerances are.

 

[CodeSpyder]

I'm not sure anyone can tell a 1 degree difference, but now I'm wondering what the manufacturing tolerances are.

Yeah, the manager at Apple said that they should be spot on, and not a degree off.