The real problem with the Apple Vision Pro

It’s definitely the tech news of the week and probably of the year. Apple released this week (in the US only) its first augmented reality headset, the Vision Pro.

🥳 Why is this an event?

Let us be clear, this release has nothing to do with the latest iPhone or even the release of yet another VR headset at Meta.

The release of the Apple Vision Pro is an event for several reasons:

• Apple does not often enter a product segment: the latest example is headsets (AirPods) and watches (Apple Watch) with the success we know
• This is a project in gestation since at least 2007 (we find the first patents strangely close to the current product)
• Even if there are augmented reality headsets for years (notably Meta's Oculus), no solution has broken through to the general public
• Apple has the ecosystem necessary to make uses take off and see useful applications appear
• This device has the potential to impact many industries: entertainment, health, education, etc.

💥 How is the user experience revolutionary?

Yes at one point you shouldn't be afraid of words, the Vision pro user interface is revolutionary.

The reason is simple: where previous VR headsets required dedicated controllers, Apple has developed a system allowing you to control the gaze interface: you place your gaze on a button, an image,... and you "click" with a small gesture of your fingers 🤏.

The expression react to the finger and the eye has rarely been so appropriate.

🕵️‍♂️What do the first tests say?

As is often the case with Apple, the V1 of a product is not perfect: rather heavy, a reduced autonomy (around 2 hours) and few applications available at launch.

Don't panic, we said the same thing about the iPhone.

On the other hand, everyone agrees on several points:

• This is the best headset marketed to date,
• The level of immersion made possible by the quality of the screens is incredible
• Navigation in the interface quickly becomes a reflex (like the "pinch to zoom on the iPhone)

👨‍💻What is it really for?

Even if you're a fan of gadgets like me, given the price of the toy ($3,500), it's hard to justify one such purchase without - trying to - answer the following question: What is a Vision Pro for?

The 2 craziest applications made possible with the Vision Pro are the following:

Use it as a second screen for the Mac

A (3D) cinema experience absolutely everywhere

Or even a mixture of the two:

In both cases, it is difficult to justify the price to provide such a service today. But these 2 use cases really seem the most relevant.

😱What really worries me...

I'm as hyped as ever about this gadget because I think it materializes for the first time the reality of using gadgets in our daily lives that were science fiction a few years ago (hello Minority Reports & Ready Player One).

However, it's also terribly creepy for a reason that Casey Neistat manages to perfectly materialize in his "test".

The Vision Pro is so good, so realistic that after a few hours of use we come to find the "real" more bland, the screen of our phone or our TV too small, less immersive...

And the risk is real of seeing us prefer isolation in this environment to other screens (imagine a open space where everyone would have a Vision Pro)... We film it as a family, each with a headset screwed onto our heads...

A reality that now seems within reach and I have a good feeling that we will deepen our dependence on screens even more when the Vision Pro costs the price of an iPad....

It's not tomorrow,...but not so far away.