Apple unveiled the Apple Vision Pro at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June of 2023, and pre-orders for the device began in January of 2024. The announcement sparked new conversation among the general public, since it was the first Apple product to take a huge leap into the future in many years.
The new headset is unlike any of Apple’s current technology. The Vision Pro offers a fully immersed experience for the user. The mixed-reality headset can create the illusion of being transported to another place entirely, thanks to the sharp visuals and audios it offers.
The buzz surrounding the product died down a bit at the end of January, until it was finally released to the public on Feb. 2. Once again, the product became the topic of conversation.
People can be seen wearing the Vision Pro on the streets, in the park, on the train and nearly anywhere for that matter. After seeing the embrace of this new, futuristic technology, it can be difficult to not make comparisons between the Vision Pro and fictional realities where technology like it is vastly accepted.
READ MORE: Opinion: Swifties have an unhealthy parasocial relationship with Taylor Swift
A notable fictional reality that reflects some similarities to the new Apple product is the 2018 movie “Ready Player One”. Only one day after the Vision Pro was released, “Ready Player One” was added to Netflix on Feb. 3.
“Ready Player One” is a radical take on the immersion of virtual reality into society in the year 2045. Nearly everyone lives a large portion of their life within the headset to distract themselves from the deteriorating, gloomy and overpopulated society they live in. While real-life society hasn’t quite gotten to this point, it is easy to spot correlations between the two.
The main character, Wade Watts, stays stationary in his home; however, he can transport from New York City to the hotel from The Shining, or an electro-dance club in the sky while using the headset. The Apple Vision Pro is fully capable of executing this simulation too. Its micro-OLED display, which consists of 23 million pixels, can take the user to the middle of the desert, the top of a mountain or even to the moon.
The movie included a body suit, alongside the headset, to give the main character access to full-body physical sensation on top of sight and sound. Vision Pro is limited to accommodating spatial visual and auditory aspects only.
With technological advancements always on the horizon, who’s to say Apple won’t achieve a sensation-enabled bodysuit by the year 2045?
READ MORE: LSU men’s basketball guard Jalen Cook suspended from program
The movie also shows life outside of the headset. Society within the film consists of people wearing VR headsets out in public, on sidewalks and on street corners going about their daily lives. With the introduction of Vision Pro to the public market, scenes like this are slowly becoming noticeable in the real world.
Videos of people walking around with the Vision Pro on, without any misdirection, are circulating the internet. The headset’s 3D cameras on the outside relay to the screen and give an accurate depiction of what surroundings look like in real time.
Apple Vision Pro is undeniably a huge advancement in technology that will be incorporated into everyday life. As this new product settles into current day society, a path towards the future is paved.
A future that may look more and more like “Ready Player One”.
