We tried Best Buy's new Vision Pro app — and it's pretty rough
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Impulse shopping for all things tech just got a whole lot easier. This week Best Buy debuted its new Envision app exclusively on the Apple Vision Pro, an augmented reality tool that lets shoppers visualize products in their space before making a purchase on Best Buy's online store.
Using the Envision app, customers can preview 3D models of TVs, appliances, furniture, and other Best Buy products to see how they fit into different areas of their home. From there, they can check out ratings and pricing, share the item with a friend through text or email, and open the product page within the Vision Pro Safari app to make a purchase on Best Buy's website.
The retailer is one of many brands testing out spatial computing capabilities on Apple's mixed reality headset, from streaming giants launching 3D movies to the more than 3,000 native Vision Pro apps available on the App Store. In a Thursday press release, Best Buy described the Envision app as "a new way that our customers can explore, discover, and bring new technology to life in their own living space" while also helping them “plan their ultimate home technology setup." The retailer also shared a few images of how the app's interface will look on Apple's mixed reality headset.
“Best Buy Envision is another way we’re utilizing innovative technology to humanize consumer electronics like no one can,” said Brian Tilzer, chief digital, analytics and technology officer for Best Buy. “The app allows our customers to see, in a lifelike way, how technology will look and feel right in their own homes, delivering an immersive and personalized shopping experience.”
The retailer is frequently home to some of the best Apple deals, and this new app makes it easier to get in on the savings (at least for early adopters of the Vision Pro). All you need to do is strap on the headset, launch the app, and start shopping. Plus, as Best Buy notes, being able to see the product in your space via AR should make it easier to tell if that TV in your shopping cart could stand to be a few inches bigger or smaller.
Trying the Best Buy Vision Pro app
Our global editor in chief Mark Spoonauer tried out the Best Buy Envision app on a Vision Pro, and the experience was not super polished. For one, there doesn't appear to be a search function, which seems like a huge omission. You can scroll through product lists and apply filters like Best Selling but that's it.
He also found that placing objects in your room can be tricky. For example, after selecting a 77-inch LG C3 OLED TV and trying to put it on a nearby wall, it just crashed to the floor. It's also not easy to turn devices around, though it's easier to manipulate smaller gadgets within the app.
For example, you can get up close with a Lenovo Yoga laptop and get a feel for its relative size to your coffee table, as well as check out the ports and the left and right side. It's almost like the system is the room with you.
Mark also had a chance to preview a massage chair in his living room and compare it to the swivel chair for a sense of scale. And you can get up close and see the buttons and other features.
Overall, the Best Buy Envision App for Vision Pro is a clever idea, but it needs more time in the AR oven.
