How to make an Apple Vision Pro Persona

Now that you’ve got your $3,500 Apple Vision Pro, gone through the tutorial, and gotten the hang of things, it’s time to do the next best thing: make a Persona.

Personas are Apple’s name for a digital avatar of yourself for video calls. Or, in Apple’s words, a “natural representation of you that you can use to connect with others.” Aside from FaceTime, your Persona is also used with the EyeSight feature — you know, the ghostly eyes that appear on the Vision Pro’s front display. It’s created using image captures and 3D measurements of your head, face, upper body, and facial expressions.

But before you go run off and make a Persona, there’s one thing to keep in mind. Right now, Personas are in beta which means… they look kind of cursed. I’ve heard mine described as a soft focus ‘70s-style portrait and as a memorial photo like the ones used in obituaries. Hair often looks blocky, sort of like a non-playable character in a PlayStation 3 game. You’ll recognize yourself, but it won’t quite get everything right.

Personas have gotten a bit better since launch, thanks to software updates, but mine is still not what I’d call a fully “natural representation” of me. But it’s okay — you don’t have to make one, especially if you’re worried about privacy, since Apple is essentially taking photos of you to generate the Persona. (You can read Apple’s official Persona privacy policy here.)

You’ll get prompted to create your Persona while you’re setting up the Vision Pro. But in the event you skipped that to explore other features, here’s how to get started.

You should see a preview of your Persona. Bask in its cursed image. But there are still some things you can do to edit how it appears.

It’s okay if you need to try making your Persona a second time. I’ve made three thus far, and here are a couple of tips:

At this point, it’s imperative that you call your best friend or loved ones on FaceTime. This way, you can listen to them roast you. Better yet, if you know someone who has a Vision Pro, call them and the two of you can have a jolly time laughing at how your Personas turned out. I did this with our weekend news editor Wes Davis, and we had a great time guffawing over how his mustache would not move.

So long as you don’t go in with too high expectations, Persona FaceTimes can be a fun conversation starter with people you know. Have a lot of people laughed at my expense? Sure, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a blast in the process.