A few thoughts on Apple Vision Pro

Then came the One More Thing. Apple Vision Pro. My reaction was viscerally negative. Before my eyes, rather than windows floating in a mixed reality space, were flashing bits of dystopian novels and films. As the presentation went on, where the presenter spoke about human connection, I thought isolation; where they spoke about immersion, I thought intrusion. When they showed examples of a Vision Pro wearer interacting with friends and family as if it was the most normal thing to do, the words that came to my mind were “weird” and “creepy”.

In the online debate that followed the keynote, it appears that we Vision Pro sceptics already worried by the personal and societal impact of this device have been chastised by the technologists and fanboys for being the usual buzzkills and party poopers. And while I imparted no judgment whatsoever on those who felt excited and energised by the new headset, some were quick to send me private messages calling me an idiot for not liking the Vision Pro. Those, like me, who were instantly worried about this device bringing more isolation, self-centeredness, and people burying themselves even more into their artificial bubbles, were told that we can’t possibly know this is what’s going to happen, that this is just a 1.0 device, that these are early days, that the Vision Pro is clearly not a device you’re going to wear 24 hours a day, and so forth.

Riccardo Mori