The Use Case for Mac Virtual Display

I’ll be honest, I still think Mac Virtual Display (MVD) for the Apple Vision Pro (AVP) is lackluster. Though I think I have a better understanding of why some reviewers or tech bloggers/enthusiasts have sung it’s praises. I also think they will not be waxing quite as poetic after a week or two of use.

I’ve written before about trying to code on the AVP and why I’m probably going to return it and both times I wrote off MVD as being blurry and a massive step down from using my external monitors. That sentiment hasn’t changed and I stand by all of what I’ve said. However there is a use case that makes at least some sense. When all you have is your MBP’s built-in display and especially if you are on the 14″.

Today I spent an hour or so on my couch using the AVP with MVD and I kind of get it. I think that most of the people I read/heard who spoke highly of MVD were traveling while using it. Compared to just your laptop monitor I can understand why some people might prefer the MVD. Let me be clear though, I still don’t. I thought maybe the ergonomics of looking forward instead of down at the screen would make up for the blurriness, it doesn’t. I thought I’d try what Marco Arment suggested on ATP episode 573: Look at it Harder, making the resolution 1080 instead of the default. That helps with being able to read text some but it’s still not anywhere near as sharp as a native AVP app and you sacrifice a ton of screen space when you do that.

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