Lens jones

How else to describe what has gradually and then suddenly become apparent, namely that I have gone down the rabbit hole of optimal cleaning of all my various screens and lenses?

It started when I got Apple's Vision Pro in late February of 2024 (pro tip: don't buy one, it's devilishly difficult to use and uncomfortable and all it's good for in the end is watching movies like "Project Hail Mary" in 6k on a 40-foot [virtual] screen in your own private movie theater 24/7/365.

You can use that $3,500 elsewhere and get far more bang for your buck.

But I digress.

The Vision Pro has a number of glass elements: the front screen, the two internal lenses, and for me the additional 2 prescription glass snap-in lenses.

Apple's instructions for cleaning all these components has changed over time.

At launch the guidance was very simple: clean both the front glass and the internal lenses only with a clean, dry microfiber cloth (ideally the included Apple Vision Pro Polishing Cloth, which you can buy separately from Apple for $20).

Later, Apple explicitly added that you may spray Zeiss Lens Cleaner onto the polishing cloth — NOT directly on the device — if needed for more stubborn smudges, then wipe the glass dry.

For the internal optical display lenses, Apple's instructions were to remove them, then wipe the optical displays with a clean, dry microfiber cloth, again preferably the included Apple Vision Pro Polishing Cloth.

Later, as with the cover glass, Apple stated that Zeiss cleaning spray may be applied to the polishing cloth — again, never directly to the lenses — then wipe the lenses dry.

If, like me, you are using Zeiss prescription inserts, Apple's instructions were to remove the inserts from Vision Pro, then clean the inserts with Zeiss Lens Wipes or Zeiss cleaning spray applied with the Apple Polishing Cloth, then make sure they are completely dry before reinserting them.

It's far easier to use Zeiss Lens Wipes — which are moist with Zeiss's proprietary cleaning liquid — than the cleaning spray + polishing cloth, so that's been my routine since the last guidance from Apple noted above.

It seems to me that if Zeiss Lens Wipes are good enough for my Zeiss prescription inserts, they must be fine for all the glass elements on the device: therefore, I use Zeiss Lens Wipes on both the front glass and the internal lenses, allowing the moist wipes to remove all detritus and dust before a final polish with the Apple Polishing Cloth.

But here's the thing: once I went down the Zeiss glass cleaning rabbit hole, it turned out there are lots of variations on this theme.

Pictured up top along with Zeiss Lens Wipes, they include: 

• Zeiss Mobile Screen Wipes — "gentle and effective cleaning of mobile screens, particularly smartphones and tablets"

• Zeiss Display Wipes — "ideal for televisions, LCD displays and laptops; switch off device, unplug from power, let cool first before cleaning"

• Zeiss Sunglasses Wipes — "suitable for all glass and plastic eyeglasses and sunglasses (particularly effective for high-quality, coated precision lenses and anti-reflective lens coatings)"