5 Vision Pro party tricks that'll show friends what Apple's new gadget can do

The Apple Vision Pro was breathtaking and even scary at times for my friends. Jordan Hart/BI

• I’ve had the Apple Vision Pro for over a week, and I love showing it off to my friends.
• From planets to dinosaurs, they’ve been blown away by the party tricks the headset can do.
• Here are five capabilities I showed off to prove how cool the $3,500 Vision Pro can be.

I’ve had Apple’s Vision Pro for over a week now, and it’s been the topic of conversation among my friends.

Everyone wants to try out the cool new ($3,500) gadget.

And it turns out, with the right party tricks, the Vision Pro can be something that’s fun for everyone, even people who are waiting their turn to try it out.

Over the past week, I’ve demoed the device to tons of friends.

Once they’ve mastered the look, pinch, and swipe motions they need to control the device, here are the five things I show them to blow their minds.

The 360-degree nature scenes

I fully immersed my friends in nature while still being in my living room. Jordan Hart/BI

By using the “digital crown” at the top of the Vision Pro — it’s basically the same dial an Apple Watch has — I can immediately transport my friends to a nature setting.

I can surround them with 360-degree views of a forest, desert, or cliffside instead of seeing me and my living room. It’s a quick and easy way to earn an impressed “wow” and show off the Vision Pro’s micro-OLED display.

Solar System app

The solar system app is dark and a little eerie, but it’s a unique way to see the planets. Jordan Hart/BI

The Space Vision app name is available for free on the Apple app store. I downloaded it out of curiosity, and it ended up impressing me more than most of what I saw during Apple’s free demo.

Like the nature scenes controlled by the crown dial, the app immerses you in the solar system. It’s kind of mind-blowing (and eerie) to be standing in empty space between Earth and Mars.

My FaceTime Persona

My Persona earned laughs from my loved ones when I called them in the Vision Pro. Jordan Hart/Business Insider

Not all the party tricks are impressive; some are just funny.

While FaceTime looks normal for me while I’m wearing the Vision Pro, the person on the other end of the line isn’t seeing my real face with the Vision Pro covering my eyes.

Instead, Apple creates a slightly aged-looking version of myself called a Persona.

Persona is still in beta, and it needs a lot of work. Family and friends have giggled at my uncanny-valley doppelganger. But it’s getting better.

The Encounter Dinosaurs app

An image of “Encountering Dinosaurs” on the Vision Pro. Apple

Apple seems to know we’d all want to play with the Vision Pro like a $3,500 toy, so it comes included with an app to scare you with three-dimensional dinosaurs.

The experience isn’t completely immersive (thank goodness), but it does look like the dinosaurs are interacting with you as they strut around their rocky environment.

I won’t spoil too much for those who haven’t tried it yet, but it’s a perfect short experience that shows off the 3D capabilities of the Vision Pro.

The unique movie experience

“Mandalorian” footage in the Vision Pro demo Apple

When I was shown a few movie trailers during my Apple store demo, I knew watching movies on the Vision Pro would be my favorite way to use the device.

Naturally, I had to show my other movie-loving friends how it transforms the average at-home movie night into a full theatrical production.

Disney+ comes downloaded on the headset, and it has a category of titles that can be watched in 3D.

But you don’t really need that. Watching “Finding Nemo” while standing in a virtual white sand desert is impressive enough!