Actually I would argue it is VR first and AR second because in its dormant, non-powered state your view is completely blocked whereas if it were AR first you would just be looking through transparent glass lenses in its dormant, non-powered state.
Apple’s final destination with this product is AR and they are using it as AR but it is a VR headset replicating an AR experience because we do not have the technology yet to make something like this being AR dominant.
I don’t think it is a disappointing product, I think it is pretty amazing actually.
Blurry eyes, yeah, that outward facing screen is an interesting choice but it makes sense with that they were going for. Based on all the tech in the Vision Pro I doubt that outward facing screen added much in terms of cost to the Bill of Materials but it is a nifty thing to try out. I’d rather have companies experimenting with this type of thing than only making predictable products over and over again with only minor improvements.
I don’t think it is productive to bad mouth a product that you probably haven’t even tried yet and probably would not be buying anyway.