The Vision Pro feels enormously delicate and precarious in your hands.
The entire front feels like an optical surface you shouldn't touch, because it's not clear where the feedthrough cameras are that you might smudge with a fingerprint. And of course the lenses on the interior are obviously optical surfaces you shouldn't touch. Meanwhile the two-piece light shield and cushion, despite appearing to be rigidly attached, are actually fastened lightly with magnets and easily detach. A careless person picking a VP up for the first time is almost guaranteed to try to hold it by the light shield, only to find the headset detach and fall (onto the table if you're lucky, the floor if you're not).
If you grab it by one of the side straps (where the speakers are) it seems like you're putting a lot of torque on those because the front is so heavy, and it's hard to stop the other side of the headset from awkwardly scraping on the table. Meanwhile you have the power cord dangling around, vaguely in the way.
So there's really only one place to grab it, around the thin edges of the aluminum frame, while being careful not to touch the front "glass". But this same surface has somewhat sharp edges for the cooling vents and doesn't really seem designed for you to touch. I've started using my thumb and forefinger in the recess right around the nose.
It's a surprisingly awkward experience for an Apple product. I really have no idea how I am "supposed" to hold it and put it on my face.
You are right about some of the “easy to think of” ways to grab being awkward (e.g., pulling by one strap).
However, there is definitely “the one” way to grab it that is super easy and was recommended to me at the store by an employee. You approach the headset from the front, use your thumb to grab under the area where your nose goes in the center, while the react of your fingers/palm grab the device from the top.
After trying it, it ended up being a really easy and reliable grab that didn’t require me neither looking at it while I am doing it nor worry about fiddliness and precision. It feels really steady too, with nothing important (like cameras or the glass) being easy to touch even accidentally.
P.S. Just realized that the last part might not hold true for people with small hands, but even in that case, you would only touch the glass a bit maybe. Nothing functionally important. Cannot confirm that hypothesis myself for obvious reasons.
The front glass exists to protect the sensors and be easily wiped off. If you don't take a knife to it or drop it on concrete, you're unlikely to cause any real damage.
According the the video this thread is about, the glass has a coating of plastic over it, likely to help with impact resistance.
This means the outer surface can be scuffed/scratched in ways that cannot be wiped off. This scuffing is described in the video you linked during his first tests. This could be an issue if you get a scuff in front of a camera.
Seems like the laminate combo of plastic and glass is very resistant to breaking though, which is great. Maybe that tradeoff is worth it.
The entire front feels like an optical surface you shouldn't touch, because it's not clear where the feedthrough cameras are that you might smudge with a fingerprint. And of course the lenses on the interior are obviously optical surfaces you shouldn't touch. Meanwhile the two-piece light shield and cushion, despite appearing to be rigidly attached, are actually fastened lightly with magnets and easily detach. A careless person picking a VP up for the first time is almost guaranteed to try to hold it by the light shield, only to find the headset detach and fall (onto the table if you're lucky, the floor if you're not).
If you grab it by one of the side straps (where the speakers are) it seems like you're putting a lot of torque on those because the front is so heavy, and it's hard to stop the other side of the headset from awkwardly scraping on the table. Meanwhile you have the power cord dangling around, vaguely in the way.
So there's really only one place to grab it, around the thin edges of the aluminum frame, while being careful not to touch the front "glass". But this same surface has somewhat sharp edges for the cooling vents and doesn't really seem designed for you to touch. I've started using my thumb and forefinger in the recess right around the nose.
It's a surprisingly awkward experience for an Apple product. I really have no idea how I am "supposed" to hold it and put it on my face.