The Vision Pro, Apple’s new VR and mixed-reality headset, hit store shelves in the US last Friday (February 2). In the days following the product’s release, videos of people using the device have flooded the Internet, sparking conversation about the future of technology.
The wearable product, sold for $3,500, allows users to see apps, email, video games, and more get integrated with their real-world surroundings, as per NBC. People can scroll through their social media feed by flicking their wrist, and give voice-activated commands instead of typing.
Casey Neistat, a YouTuber with over 12 million subscribers, shared a video testing the wearable product, which he referred to as “the “single greatest piece of tech I’ve ever used.”
Apple’s new Vision Pro headset is here, and it’s already sparking safety concerns among social media users
Image credits: apple
The device allows users to see apps, email, video games, and more get integrated with their real-world surroundings
The video shows the content creator skateboarding on the streets of New York, ordering doughnuts, and simultaneously interacting with two different screens—Apple TV and YouTube—while sitting on a bench in Times Square.
“It’s an imperfect product, but to me, at age 42, this is without a doubt the most profound piece of technology I have ever experienced, and that was not my expectation,” he said.
Another viral video showed a man crossing the street wildly swinging his head around while allegedly using apps on the device.
Watch Apple’s presentation of the revolutionary device below
Image credits: apple
People have also been using the device on public transportation, with videos emerging of Vision Pro customers wearing their pricey VR set on the subway.
“With a cost of $3,500, I’m surprised we haven’t seen videos of one of these guys getting robbed yet,” one social media user wrote.
“Would I take something [worth] $3500? No. Would I wear something worth $3500 that makes me blind to what happens around me and to a potential robber [who] could just grab [the headset] and run away with it? You know the answer,” another person said.
People have been spotted using the device while riding the subway
How to watch sports on the Apple Vision Pro pic.twitter.com/dD1PBxAHiR
— Alex Finn (@AlexFinnX) February 3, 2024
Image credits: AlexFinnX
Perhaps the most controversial clip of the new tech product shows a Vision Pro user, 21-year-old Dante Lentini, wearing the headset while in a self-driving Tesla. The man can be seen tapping at the air until the clip cuts to show him parked with police lights flashing in his rear window.
The US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg re-posted the video on X (formerly known as Twitter), writing: “Reminder — all advanced driver assistance systems available today require the human driver to be in control and fully engaged in the driving task at all times.”
Even Apple cautions users against wearing the headset in the car. “Never use the device while operating a moving vehicle, bicycle, heavy machinery, or in any other situations requiring attention to safety,” the product’s user guide states.
Users have also been captured interacting with each other while wearing the headset
While Lentini later admitted that the viral video was a skit and that he coincidentally filmed the police on unrelated duties, people still began sounding the alarm about what a potential future with the device would look like.
Some worry that the revolutionary tech device will lead to a world similar to the one depicted in the dystopian sci-fi show Black Mirror. In the British series, technology has completely taken over people’s lives, having profound consequences on society.
A video of a man wearing the Vision Pro while in a self-driving Tesla went viral online
Think different. #applevisionpro pic.twitter.com/dEALUsntS8
— Dante (@lentinidante) February 2, 2024
Image credits: lentinidante
Esto acaba de ocurrir. pic.twitter.com/Pp6eAdURdF
— Victor Abarca (@victor_abarca) February 5, 2024
Image credits: victor_abarca
The tech device has raised safety concerns about its reckless use in public spaces
Apple Vision Pro making me feel like we’re in a black mirror episode. It’s got to be the most dystopian technology we’ve seen in years.
What we’ve witnessed over the past 4-5 years is a sinister, well orchestrated and incremental conditioning process that is programming the… https://t.co/A9OLQt5yc1 pic.twitter.com/6zsI9quFJW
— Magnus Vigsø (@MagnusVigso) February 4, 2024
Image credits: MagnusVigso
However, there are two factors that seem to question the idea of people walking around not looking at the world with their real eyes but rather a video showing their Instagram feed. Or, at least, in the near future.
Firstly, people believe the product’s clunky design will make it lose its appeal. Until it looks more compact and discreet, experts say that the Vision Pro is not likely to see significant success.
Some didn’t miss the opportunity to recreate one of the most famous memes
Additionally, there’s the hefty price. Not everyone can afford to pay $3,499—the optional battery pack that lets you wear it without being tethered costs an additional $199—to watch several screens showing a football game and social media.
The Simpsons seemingly foreshadowed Apple’s latest product in an episode aired in 2016
The future of the device may remain a mystery for the moment, but surprisingly, the VR headset has taken off in an alternative universe.
People on social media were stunned to see a strikingly similar headset appear on an episode of The Simpsons, which aired in 2016 and seemingly foreshadowed Apple’s latest product.
In the episode, titled “Friends and Family,” Homer and Marge appear lying in bed while using virtual reality headsets, which soon catch on to the whole of Springfield.
“It’s been a black mirror episode [for] a while now,” a person wrote on social media
