For many early adopters of Apple‘s much-hyped Vision Pro mixed reality headset, the magic has dimmed in the two weeks since the device first shipped. A growing chorus of Vision Pro owners has taken to social media to announce they are returning their $3,500 headsets, citing issues with comfort, motion sickness, and a lack of compelling productivity use cases.

The returns aren’t unexpected. Apple offers a 14-day return window for its products, and we are now crossing that threshold for the first wave of Vision Pro pre-orders. However, the nature of the complaints highlights fundamental challenges Apple will have to overcome with its cutting-edge but unproven form factor.

“Despite being as magical to use as I’d hoped, it was simply way too uncomfortable to wear even for short periods of time both due to the weight and the strap designs,” said Bradley Ortolani, a metaverse design lead who announced his return on Thread. “I wanted to use it, but dreaded putting it on.”

The physical ergonomics of the Vision Pro, which weighs just over two pounds with the bulk of the weight positioned in front of the face, have been a consistent gripe. Many users report suffering from headaches, eye strain, and motion sickness after wearing the device, with comfort issues disproportionately impacting different head shapes and nose bridges.

This has always been a challenge for wearable technology designed for the mass market. Factors like weight distribution, adjustability, and individual anatomies create uncomfortable friction even as the underlying technology improves.

But the Vision Pro’s issues extend beyond pure comfort. Several users have voiced concerns over the AR headset’s utility as a productivity tool, particularly given its premium $3,500 price point.

“If I’m not using this for productivity, and if I don’t love it for entertainment, and if there aren’t enough games to play on it – I just can’t justify keeping it,” wrote one Reddit user summarizing their return.

Carter Gibson, a senior manager at Google, cited difficulties with window management, lack of file type support, and the overall experience not living up to the promise of more seamless computing.

“It’s difficult to multitask between ‘windows’,” Gibson posted on Threads. “Several file types simply aren’t supported on the Vision Pro. I also can’t see how creating a slide in the VP would be less energy than doing so w/ mouse and keyboard — even if does feel like you’re in Minority Report.”

Of course, early adopters always represent a vocal minority. It’s impossible to know the actual rate of Vision Pro returns without data from Apple itself. It’s also likely that many of those returning devices simply plan to wait for a more refined second-generation model with improved comfort and capabilities.

But these early complaints are nevertheless a concerning sign for Apple’s mixed reality ambition. The company built its fortunes on delivering intuitive, premium experiences. With the Vision Pro, many users are finding a product that feels magical but not yet mature enough to justify its substantial price tag.

As more headsets make their way into consumers’ hands, Apple must find compelling software and UI paradigms that capitalize on the device’s unique immersive qualities. Physical comfort issues will also require iterative improvements. The current batch of returns suggests that Vision Pro’s initial version may be too much of a compromise for many.

Continued rapid innovation and responsiveness to user feedback will be crucial as Apple seeks to evangelize its vision of spatial computing to a skeptical consumer market. The road ahead looks mixed as the company strives to achieve its characteristically elegant integration of hardware and software. But if a growing chorus of early adopters is any indication, Apple has its work cut out for it.