For those of us who have trouble with reality, the prospect of virtual reality is likely terrifying. A sort of spectral life, but with extra troubleshooting? On top of regular old existence?
The thing is, like many people, I suspect, I’m not actually sure what “virtual reality” means. Only that it has come to symbolize a fearsome new world where problems magnify in proportion with pixels, prideful jargon is inescapable (the easiest way to curse something, whether it’s a Boeing or a streaming platform, is to put “Max” in the name), and dorks in white leather sneakers lord over us all.
To the good people at Apple, though, “virtual reality” means something entirely different. For one thing, their new V.R. headset, Vision Pro, is more gentle than you could have imagined. Vision Pro is merely a continuation of the products half the world has come to know and love … or curse, if only for the simple reason that you can’t help but use them.
To deploy the Vision Pro, you first have to allow for prescription eyewear and calibrate the device using a process that’s similar to setting up Face ID on your phone. Then you slip the headset on like you would any pair of goggles.
Once you’re inside, the most arresting feature is that it’s not all that different from having your head buried in your phone or laptop, except you can clearly see the “real world” behind all the screen icons. In this way, the device isn’t making you relinquish your surroundings—it’s actually delivering you back to them. Anyway, the idea that we’re not already lost in a digital world is a farce.
The next thing you notice is that you’re being watched. Not by the solicitous Apple employees who are giving you the demo, but by an untold number of infra-red cameras, L.E.D. sensors, and God knows what else, both inside and outside the headset. They’re tracking even the slightest movements of eye, hand, and body, using the information they collect to direct the cursor and click around. As proof of how sensitive this system is, all you have to do to click on something is to look at it and then tap your thumb and forefinger together.
The idea that we’re not already lost in a digital world is a farce.
Some of the Vision Pro’s applications are absolutely stunning. On Apple TV, for instance, “the picture,” as my grandpa called it, is more crisp and captivating than on a real television, with millions of pixels for each eye. There’s no lag, and a digital crown—a wheel on the top of the headset that Apple Watch wearers will be familiar with—controls what the company calls “environments.” This means you can either see the application you’re using among your real-life surroundings, or turn the crown to fade in some pre-programmed environment, such as a mountaintop or a Star Wars landscape, that envelops you no matter which direction you look.
Browsing the Internet on Vision Pro becomes a joy once you realize you can open several windows at once. Positioning the various screens around you—not to mention on the ceiling—confers a feeling of intelligence-agency-like importance. If I owned the headset, I’d keep at least one giant map open at all times, just to feel like I’m in the Situation Room.
In fact, the Internet browser might be the device’s strongest feature at launch, especially after YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix announced they won’t be building dedicated apps for the system just yet. This news got more play in the press than it should have, because you can easily use all these applications on Safari or Google Chrome, the same way you might on your laptop.
Spatial features, such as the digital keyboard, which taunts you to jab at it clumsily, are fun to use but impractical for anything longer than a Web address. The spatial photos and videos, which you can capture and view on the headset, are strikingly lifelike. You can see how someone who’s separated from their loved ones might really cotton to them.
If I owned the headset, I’d keep at least one giant map open at all times, just to feel like I’m in the Situation Room.
It’s always interesting to read what reviewers hate about new products, if only for the sheer joy of wondering at how oblivious critics can be. In more than one review of the Vision Pro, the writer worried that he or she wouldn’t look cool while wearing the headset. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but if you’ve ever entertained the idea of blowing $3,500 on a pair of V.R. goggles, there was never any risk of you looking cool to begin with. You could, theoretically, smoke a cigarette or ride a motorcycle while wearing Vision Pro—you know, to up your street cred—though I’m sure Apple wouldn’t recommend it.
Lack of privacy is another concern that’s been bandied about. After all, not only can the device track what you’re clicking on; it can see what you’re looking at and for how long. What is the headset doing with all the data it’s collecting about you? Not selling it to advertisers, Apple swears.
But really, anyone who has been served an ad on social media for something they were just talking about should know that privacy in the modern age is an illusion, despite what anyone says. To make peace with the 21st century, you have to heed the advice they dish out in Alcoholics Anonymous: admit that you’re powerless.
Truly, the biggest downside to the Vision Pro is its weight. Unless you are in possession of a Travis Kelce–like neck, you’ll probably get tired of having the device on your head after 45 minutes or so. But like most Apple products, the headset will only get lighter with each future version.
The graveyard of tech criticism is littered with people who dared to make predictions about Apple products. Even YouTube, Netflix, and Spotify aren’t confident enough about Vision Pro’s long-term viability to bet on it, so I won’t, either.
But it’s worth noting that the headset has a way of sticking with you long after you’ve removed it. If any device is going to teach us what virtual reality is, it will probably be made by Apple, the masters of manual-free instruction.
And their lessons about V.R., at least up until now, are reassuring. It’s not some deceptively named, unearthly hellscape where slathering digital hounds and wily, shrieking cyber-ghouls roam freely and gnaw at your precious consciousness. It’s a place where you can truly, convincingly escape for a while. We’re all already doing it, so why keep on pretending? And as three-dimensional as everything may seem in there, they still can’t touch you.
The Apple Vision Pro goes on sale February 2 for $3,499
Nathan King is a Deputy Editor at AIR MAIL