Dbrand Says Its Vision Pro Protector is the ‘Ugliest Thing We’ve Ever Made’

Dbrand announced a new Apple Vision Pro protective skin called Aperture which it admits is probably “the ugliest thing” it has ever made.

The Swiss-cheese-looking case around the Vision Pro is designed to address a known issue with Apple’s headset: it’s fragile. While Apple sells its own protective case, it can’t be used while wearing the headset because it blocks the cameras and sensors.

“It solve[s] a very real problem: traditional protective covers cannot exist for the Vision Pro because (for obvious reasons) you can’t block the sensors,” Dbrand tells PetaPixel in an email. “The prevailing AliExpress solution is to put a handful of holes on the face and make the whole thing clear so that the holes don’t look as dumb. Spoiler alert: it still looks dumb.”

Dbrand says that about a year ago, it saw a tweet from designer and engineer Kyle Goodrich (formerly at Snap) that showed a trypophobic inducing design that embraced the holes that would be necessary for the sensors rather than trying to hide them.

“After a few DMs with Kyle, back when the Vision Pro wasn’t the punchline to a joke, we agreed to partner with him and bring the product to market,” Dbrand says. Today marks the end of that project.

Dbrand’s knock on the Vision Pro in that quote explains the limited nature of this release: the company only plans to sell 12 units. After 330 days of development in tandem with Goodrich, the Aperture is available and promises zero sensor interference with the Vision Pro.

“The Apple Vision Pro is equipped with a legion of vital cameras and sensors. If even one is obscured, you have a $3,500 paperweight strapped to your face. Lucky for you, Kyle Goodrich teamed up with the most precision-oriented accessory manufacturer in the business… Each hold is purposefully sculpted to maintain complete functionality while in use,” Dbrand says.

The Aperture is made from a single-shot injection of high-durometer polyurethane and promises to protect the Vision Pro without any of the thickness and cosmetic blemishes typically inherent to a multi-shot mixed polymer construction. Dbrand also offers an option battery holster with a built-in clip for tethering it to a belt that, while it doesn’t need them, is also covered in holes.

The Dbrand Aperture is available in either black or orange and in two configurations: a standalone Vision Pro cover and a battery holster bundle. The former is $49 while the latter is $69. Both are available on Dbrand’s website. They ship in a box that matches the color of the Aperture chosen, which means the orange option is quite gaudy.

This is a limited production run as mentioned, so the scant few Aperture that will be available won’t likely be around for long since there won’t be even enough for “all 15 Apple Vision pro owners,” as Dbrand says.

Image credits: Dbrand