Vision Pro is an incredible headset in many ways, but its most obvious weak point (after the pricetag) is comfort. Apple’s obsession with aesthetics made a headset that’s striking for those looking at it, but less comfortable than it could be for those actually using it. Luckily, fixing this flaw is quite simple.

Many critiques of Vision Pro’s comfort attribute the issue to the headset’s weight. It’s metal after all! So that must be the issue, right?

Well, Vision Pro actually isn’t much heavier than contemporary headsets. Quest 3’s display housing (the headset without the headstrap or facepad) weighs 394g. Vision Pro’s display housing weighs just 81g more at 475g.

Photo by Road to VR

Weight is a key component of headset comfort, but way a headstrap distributes the weight is also a massively important factor.

And to be fair, even Quest 3’s default soft strap isn’t particularly comfortable. Clearly recognizing this, Meta offers an after-market ‘Elite Strap’, which adds 183g, bringing Quest up to 642g (including the facepad). That’s actually heavier than Vision Pro, with its default strap and facepad, at 625g.

Quest 3 with its default soft strap is quite uncomfortable for me | Photo by Road to VR

In the case of Meta’s Elite Strap, adding weight actually makes the headset more comfortable.

Like Quest 3’s default strap, Vision Pro’s default ‘Solo Knit Band’ headstrap also isn’t that comfortable.

Solo Knit Band | Image courtesy Apple

Clearly recognizing this, Apple also opted to include a ‘Dual Loop Band’ headstrap with every Vision Pro. It’s a better (thanks to a top strap for improved weight distribution) but it’s still not great.

Dual Loop Band | Image courtesy Apple

It’s a real shame because on the one hand, the default Knit Band is actually really awesome. It’s soft, cups the back of your head nicely, and is incredibly easy to adjust with a built-in dial on the side. But if you use it, you forgo the benefit of the top strap that comes with the Dual Loop Band. So you can have one or the other, but not both.

It’s obvious that Apple should have just combined the two. Luckily for us, third-party strap options fix this issue for significantly less than an official Elite Strap from Apple—even if they did offer one.

After trying multiple third-party straps for Vision Pro, I’ve finally found one that does exactly I want: it combines with the excellent Knit Band, allows me to use the headset without the facepad (thereby reducing weight), and it gets my eyes closer to the lenses for a wider field-of-view.

Photo by Road to VR

This is the ANNAPRO A2 strap for Vision Pro, and it’s pretty much what Apple should have offered right out of the gate. The $45 pricetag feels very reasonable considering how much better it makes Apple’s $3,500 headset.

I’ve been testing it for a few weeks now and it has made using Vision Pro for long sessions significantly more comfortable. In fact, it’s a huge factor in making the new ultrawide virtual monitor for Vision Pro actually useful. The improved comfort makes Vision Pro much more attractive for day-to-day work.

When the company sent us the headstrap to check out, they also extended a 10% discount code to our readers: be sure to use the code ROADTOVR at checkout on Amazon if you plan to buy one.

The Annapro A2 strap slides easily onto Vision Pro’s struts, and works seamlessly with the Knit Band (it can also work with the Dual Loop if you want even more top-strap support). It includes four different pad sizes (5mm, 12mm, 18mm, and 25mm) in the box, allowing it to fit to different head shapes.

Photo by Road to VR

I found the 5mm pad works best for me, allowing me to wear the headset without the facepad, and bring the lenses as close to my eyes as I comfortably can, resulting in an expanded field-of-view and a more natural AR experience thanks to the open periphery.

Photo by Road to VR

Apple clearly prioritized form-over-function when it came to Vision Pro. They wanted to deliver something that looked no more clunky than a large pair of ski goggles. But that goal led them to compromises on comfort that have become one of the main critiques of the headset.

It’s nice that this can now be fixed thanks to affordable third-party accessories. This particular approach works so well that I wouldn’t be surprised if the next iteration of Vision Pro comes adopts something similar right out of the gate.

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Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Shallker

    I've been using the A2 head strap for two weeks now. So far, so good. It helps me relieve the pressure on my cheeks a lot. I want to understand why Apple hasn't come up with a comfort solution like this.

    • xyzs

      Because Apple doesn’t care about your cheeks and discomfort while using a 4000 follars product, having nice marketing picture on their website is a priority.

      • Jistuce

        Form over function has been the Apple motto for a long time now.

  • Arno van Wingerde

    OK the Quest's strap sucks as well, for a 300-500 device, that is acceptable. Since the strap probably adds next to nothing to the costs, it is OK to get the strap you like and use that.
    For a 4000 device with one lovely but useless strap and another "Quest quality" strap? Less so…
    For instance, a second knitted top strap might also have worked, if you want to have "design".

  • Julio Corral

    You should try InfinityOne 3D, it is infinitely more comfortable than this one.

  • Jessic

    After a day or two of using it, I realized all I needed was something to keep it off my nose, and my first search led me straight to ANNAPRO. It's perfect. With the thinnest band, it holds my Vision Pro at the perfect eye level, and without the light shield, the headset just floats above my nose. I feel like my setup is complete now. This is exactly what I’ve been wanting.

  • Powder

    I also bought the Belkin head strap, which helped a bit, but I still wanted more support on the forehead. I’m wondering if I can combine this with the Belkin one. It looks like it might work.

  • FrankW

    I also bought the Belkin headband, which helped a bit, but I still wanted more support on the forehead. I’m wondering if I can combine this with the Belkin one. It looks like it might work.

  • Hey Ben, thanks for the review. I'm going to try this with my "Quest Vision Pro" mod. I am the creator of the audio strap adapters for Meta Quest 3/3s that allow use of the Vision Pro headbands on Quest 3/3s HMDs. If you by chance have a print of my mod, I'd love to know how the addition of the AnnaPro v2 works with it. Mine is on order from Amazon now to try myself.

    • Ben Lang

      I don't have a 3D printer unfortunately but I'm curious what you think when you get to try it.