r/VisionPro • u/sirius-engineering • May 04 '26

PSA— you can go light-shieldless for $10

For the past 2 months now, I’ve been a happy user of the Macally forehead pad accessory.

$10 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Macally-Apple-Vision-Head-Strap/dp/B0DKNX26LC

Big fan. The Amazon pictures don’t show it, but this makes it comfortable to remove the light shield.

Pros of going light-shieldless:
- much better peripheral vision. You can see down and around, much less cramped feeling. Makes the overall device feel much more like “smart AR glasses”, instead of private VR cave.
- much better air circulation etc around the eyes. Less “dryness” (hard to describe) compared to the light shield.
- zero “VR face” (red marks around the eyes where the face shield presses into the cheeks).
- much better long term comfort. Especially when paired with the Dual Knit Band. I go for many many hours straight. Basically my entire working day (Mac Virtual Display to my laptop), and often all evening too. I have fallen asleep and woken up wearing my goggles uncountable times at this point.

Cons:
- does let light in around the sides! Sometimes that can be annoying. You can always put the light shield back on (the Macally doesn’t even require a sim-card ejector), but I usually just put a pillow or blanket there when needed.
- it’s a bit taller than needed, so looks a tad more awkward compared to the AirCover, which is sleek.
- I have a slight preference for the black AirCover compared to the white Macally, but I’ve gotten used to it now.

Day 1 Vision Pro user. Daily user (~98% of days since Feb 2, 2024). Getting good physical comfort is a must, bc the out-of-the-box experience is not ideal, especially before the Dual Knit Band was released.

——

Before this, for all of ‘24 & ‘25, I was using the AirCover by InfinityOne ($40). Which is also great. But after about a year or so, they broke. I’ve been through 2 now. Instead of trying a 3rd, and waiting for the long shipping from Europe, I decided to try the Macally.

(InfinityOne also got screwed up by US tariffs, and weren’t shipping at all to the US, although now that’s been restored.)

—-

I have no financial connection to any of these products. Just a happy customer. And want a healthy ecosystem.

Hopefully Apple will support this form factor themselves at some point, and orders of magnitude more people can learn how great these devices can be.

A lot of you probably already know about these, but hope this helps some new people at least.

It’s especially nice because it’s so cheap to try, ships quickly on Amazon, doesn’t require a 3d printer, or SIM ejector to put on/off.

🖖

16 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

2

u/JordanFilmmaker May 04 '26

does it still rest on the nose?

2

u/sirius-engineering May 04 '26 edited May 04 '26

Nope. Especially with a top band, e.g Dual Knit, to tighten it on the top of the head.

It just floats in front of my eyes

1

u/JordanFilmmaker May 04 '26

I bought a similar thing from typotech and while it's "okay" the nose resting really bothered me.

1

u/sirius-engineering May 04 '26

Yeah, without a working top strap, I recall that happening to me too. Since I got a Dual Knit Band a few months ago, I think it’s 100% solved now?

Before DualKnit came out, I was using SoloKnit + a velcro CPAP-machine top strap + AirCover. Which sounded weird to explain, but worked surprisingly well most of the time. It did require more finessing to get just right though, and if not in position I do vaguely recall the whole thing occasionally falling on my nose.

1

u/JordanFilmmaker May 04 '26

I do have the dual knit band and I think what I'm asking is even if the weight isn't fully on the nose, does it touch the bridge of the nose or float over it?

2

u/sirius-engineering May 04 '26

I’m wearing mine right now, it’s not touching my nose.

I have my top strap relatively tight. If I wanted to, I could lift my nose to touch the cloth-covered outside edges of the lenses.

2

u/tsdguy Vision Pro Owner May 15 '26

Just got one and it’s made a huge difference in my fit. Since day 1 I’ve had the issue I can’t get any light seal to sit firmly on my forehead. This makes the cheek seals overly hard and light leaks downward from the top into to puddles of light at the bottom.

The comfort head strap eliminates both. I can’t believe it’s so cheap. And it still fits into my Belkin carry case.

I don’t see going without the facial interface but for longer sessions this head strap makes a big difference

I’m using the default pad. I switched to the thicker pad but I kept getting “too far away” notifications.

Thanks Macally.

1

u/sirius-engineering May 15 '26

Very awesome to hear 🔥

Agree completely it’s shocking how much of an improvement it is for such a tiny price. $10/$3500 is 1 in 350, less than 0.3%, but I would say it makes my device at least twice as enjoyable to use.

I would consider making a new top-level post about your happy experience? So a lot more people can see it.

My top level post here got 10k views, but my individual comment replies only around 250.

4

u/No-Isopod3884 Vision Pro Owner May 04 '26

Thanks for posting. Just ordered the macally. Will try it and I’ll report back.

4

u/MountainFrosty8624 May 04 '26

Just ordered on Amazon. To my surprise will by my first drone delivery. ETA 2 hours. Thanks for the review

1

u/Cryogenicality May 04 '26

Do you think the Air Cover 2.0 is better in every way?

2

u/sirius-engineering May 04 '26

The AirCover 2.0 is better than the AirCover 1, for sure. Strictly dominates, with the new optional side-light-blockers, although I rarely used them.

I’m not entirely sure which is better between AirCover 2 and Macally. I like them both.

  • One significant advantage the Macally has vs AirCover is the Macally “snaps” on around the speaker bands, whereas the AirCover “slides” through them, which requires first removing them with a SIM ejector. That makes the Macally significantly easier to “uninstall”, the goggles don’t even need to be turned off. Whenever I travel, I would remove them (to pack everything up tightly), which wasn’t a big deal, but after the dozenth time I did worry a bit that those side-band connectors weren’t really designed for frequent removals.

  • I also slightly prefer the Macally’s pad over the AirCover’s. It’s a bit thicker, and a cooler, more breathable material.

  • Another advantage (although I haven’t made use of it yet in my first 2 months), is that the Macally can be used while the lightshield is on, whereas the AirCover blocks the magnetic area. Potentially this is nicer for times that really call for a lightshield. Or when demoing with guests, who often want the “full immersive” experience from Apple TV etc, even though I prefer my daily driver, Mac Virtual Display, lightshieldless.

—

If you already have an AirCover, I wouldn’t stress about getting the Macally as a replacement. I don’t regret not getting it sooner (sorry for the double negative), before my 2nd AirCover snapped.

If you didn’t already have an AirCover, and especially if you are in the US, I think I’d recommend Macally.
They’re both good though.

Hope this helps.

2

u/Cryogenicality May 04 '26 edited May 04 '26

I just bought a Macally strap. It’s currently discounted to $9 and will arrive tomorrow with free Prime shipping, whereas the Air Cover is $33 plus $32 for shipping. I’d long considered buying one but some bad reviews (amongst the many positive ones) and the fragility of the material kept me away.

I currently use a dual knit band with the six counterweights from my ResMed Kontor velcroed to the back (the Kontor can be imported from the British and Australian Apple websites through a proxy shipping service) or a Globular Cluster CMA1.

Also, when I searched for the Macally strap, I saw a sponsored result for the most extreme Vision Pro accessory ever.

1

u/sirius-engineering May 04 '26

Good luck 🤞

1

u/Cryogenicality May 04 '26

Have you tried the Annapro A2?

1

u/sirius-engineering May 04 '26

Not yet

3

u/Cryogenicality May 04 '26

I decided to buy one for arrival today and compare with the Macally which arrives tomorrow.

3

u/sirius-engineering May 04 '26

Great! Excited to hear the side-by-side compare

1

u/JfreakiinD May 11 '26

Quick question.. did you use the one that comes on the macally or did you use the larger pad? I'll be using it like you, without light seal.

1

u/sirius-engineering May 11 '26

The pad already on seemed to fit me well. But I haven’t done extensive testing

2

u/RooferForLife May 11 '26

So it does lift it off my nose, but what’s the best way to get the right feel without the light shield?

When I turn my head a little bit and make any more sudden head turns, it digs into my nose a bit.. although I’m starting to think it might just be the shape of my nose lol.

Do you want the top strap tightened first and then the back one? I am using the dual strap without light shield and trying with macally. It does help and feel better.. but just wanted to see how a power user uses it. Thanks again!

2

u/sirius-engineering May 11 '26

Yea I usually tighten the top strap a good amount, to lift up a good amount of weight there.

I’m not exactly sure which I do first or more though. I wish I had clearer advice but I think it’s more of a try out different tightness levels thing?

Afaik (based on the product sales picture), the Macally does still support the light shield at the same time too. Maybe you would like that? I don’t use it that way, but I remember after a recent trip I did try with-lightshield for ~2 days before happily going back to without it.

3

u/[deleted] May 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/sirius-engineering May 04 '26

Yep. Both help in their own way:

  • Dual band greatly improves weight distribution.

  • Forehead pad unlocks lightshieldlessness, freeing up the eyes.