[imagesource:x/@imPatrickT]

Apple launched the Vision Pro on Friday, the new VR and mixed-reality headset that is simultaneously delighting and freaking everyone out.

VICE reported on a wealth of dystopian images flooding the internet as influencers took the premium device out for a spin in the real world. Many observers pointed out that this is all just a little Black Mirror-esque, lamenting a possible future where people walk around looking at a video feed through goggles instead of the real world with their real eyes.

Other more keen tech enthusiasts lauded the Vision Pro as the “single greatest piece of tech I’ve ever used”. Particularly Casey Neistat, who showed himself navigating a city with the headset on:

Vision Pro isn’t just great, it’s the single greatest piece of tech ive ever used pic.twitter.com/ArBgbkH0UR

— Casey Neistat (@Casey) February 3, 2024

In another example, YouTubers Isaac Mosna and Patrick Tomasso went out for dinner while both wearing the $3,499 goggles:

not a phone in sight pic.twitter.com/9eBJlTsLCf

— patrick. (@imPatrickT) February 3, 2024

X user Dante wore the headset while in a self-driving Tesla. The cops were onto him:

Think different. #applevisionpro pic.twitter.com/dEALUsntS8

— Dante (@lentinidante) February 2, 2024

It gets increasingly dystopian, with a man wearing his Vision Pro on the subway to work. To others, it looks like he’s just gesturing at nothing in the ether:

Working in the NYC subway on the go with Apple Vision Pro?! 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/iVWiYlxjxP

— Alexxxx (@haig98) February 3, 2024

YouTuber Victor Abarca even held a dinner party where the guests clinked glasses while looking at each other through pass-through video feeds:

Esto acaba de ocurrir. pic.twitter.com/Pp6eAdURdF

— Victor Abarca (@victor_abarca) February 5, 2024

Alex Finn goes all in, having breakfast etc surrounded by seven virtual screens as if that’s not absolutely bonkers and out of touch:

Using TikTok on Apple Vision Pro has changed my life: pic.twitter.com/ecOgvyxlLl

— Alex Finn (@AlexFinnX) February 3, 2024

Tomasso, the YouTuber who went viral for eating out with the headset on, said there’s “something bizarre, something weird about having this buffer of technology between me and you” in his video, which is called ‘the sad reality of Apple Vision Pro’.

@this.our.planet The future is here…😳🌏 Credits: haig98(X) CaseyNeistat(yt) sanjosefoos(ig) #future #incredible #fyp ♬ Originalton – Our Planet

Fortunately, the likelihood of the sci-fi dystopian future becoming a reality soon is quite low. Besides the hefty price tag – selling at $3,499 with the optional extra battery pack costing an additional $199 (that’s $3,698 in total – about R70,000) – the viral content surrounding the Vision Pro appears to be merely the creation of professional influencers intentionally crafting sensational and provocative material to elicit a response.

[source:vice]