When Apple recently debuted the Vision Pro headset after a decade of development in the U.S., CEO Tim Cook called it “tomorrow’s technology today.”
The company is finally getting into the competitive race of consumer tech products that create mixed-reality and immersive VR experiences with the likes of Meta’s Quest Pro, Microsoft HoloLens, and Google Glass.
If it wasn’t obvious before, there is no doubt that virtual reality is part of the future and the biggest tech companies are changing the way we interact with the real world. However, VR alone has a host of problems (which we’ll come back to).
As expected from Apple, the visual quality of the headset is much higher than any other on the market today, and it gets close to the promise of what VR tech sets out to do: to be hyperrealistic and transport you to other places.
However, the high visual quality comes with serious drawbacks. For one, it’s incredibly expensive (starting at $3,500). From a usability perspective, it has a short battery life, and it’s heavy, which could cause physical ailments if you have such a screen strapped to your face.
While Apple has tried to reduce the sense of isolation, it hasn’t quite worked with the headset. The external screens provide a transparent view of the wearer’s eyes, meant to encourage others to interact. Instead, we get a weird alien-looking approximation of the wearer with a headset on, breaking the spell.
Despite these setbacks, here’s what works: The pass-through mode and tracking quality are second to none. The Vision Pro will find its place as an enterprise productivity tool. Still, it won’t deliver on its core promise: to change how society uses technology forever.
Consumers would agree. Already, a ton of Apple fans have returned the headsets because they aren’t comfortable, and some have even reported that it gives them headaches and motion sickness.
The future of VR
VR trends over the past decade suggest that we’ll continue to see a steady uptick in more interactive VR devices and platforms like the Apple Vision Pro. Although this may seem extremely futuristic, its origins are not as recent as we might think.
But the more important question we all need to be asking is, How are tech companies like Apple going to ensure that the lines aren’t blurred so that we aren’t headed down the dangerous path of VR worsening the loneliness epidemic by creating another barrier between us and the real world?
When I created my company, the goal was to be an alternative to virtual reality. I wanted to rebuild the social connectivity that’s been chipped away by the traditional world of video gaming, social media, and VR.
Social media and Big Tech have built themselves on their innovative abilities to connect people. But we know now that these same technologies have also contributed to the rise in feelings of social isolation through the physical or digital barrier they create between user and environment.
Apple’s Vision Pro works exactly this way by encouraging users to enter their own virtual world, removing the need to interact with others. For technologies like this to have any mainstream role in society, we need to be honest about the isolating impact they have on people and find ways to address this.
VR contributes to loneliness and isolation
In a recent survey, one in four people from 148 countries said they felt lonely. The survey also found that the rates of loneliness were highest among young adults, with 27% of respondents ages 19 to 27 reporting feeling “very” or “fairly” lonely.
It’s worth noting that these groups are the biggest consumers of technology and spend a higher proportion of their lives on apps. Gen Zers in particular feel the impact as the first generation with 24/7 access to connected devices. It’s a cautionary tale for consumers and the companies building the products.
VR isn’t the only contributor to this problematic trend. The pandemic was a major catalyst for rising feelings of social isolation. The profound impact that this has had on people’s mental health has been detrimental even in a post-pandemic world where there is less and less face time than ever before.
In November 2023, the World Health Organization declared loneliness a pressing global health threat, and the U.S. surgeon general said that its mortality effects are equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The problem with VR contributing to the loneliness epidemic isn’t just in our personal lives. Workplaces are failing to retain staff and employees have asked their employers to get better at fostering greater interpersonal relationships as many of us continue to work from home.
Big Tech has a responsibility to ensure that the loneliness epidemic doesn’t get worse because people are using their VR products. These are real dangers that need to be addressed and taken seriously. We have to find a way to go back to the core mission of tech: that it has and can help build meaningful connections and combat the pervasive sense of isolation many experience today.
Tech should never be a way to replace real human relationships. For the most part, VR is still very solitary, and it needs to become much more social. Innovators like Apple should never view VR products as the solution to seek refuge from the real world.
We need to pressure Big Tech companies to break down barriers and usher in genuine connections among individuals. It’s up to consumers and regulators to ensure that Big Tech companies don’t muscle their popular product offerings into becoming the defaults in virtual reality, augmented reality, and the metaverse.
As consumers, we should be pushing for Congress to pass new legislation now, as these same tech companies currently control much of our current digital lives and will ultimately be in control of our future ones. Apple will only maintain its stranglehold in app distribution and monetization in its VR headsets. This can be prevented by making sure there are market opportunities for new entrants that take away from the monopoly power that companies like Apple have.
Big Tech leaders need to ensure that they are gradually introducing VR to the masses. They need to do more research that addresses the physical and mental harm of wearing a VR headset in excess versus just trying to make a profit.
It appears that their mission is to ensure that we are living in virtual reality 24/7. That should never be the goal, especially as consumers opt in to immersing themselves in VR. This is something that Apple, Microsoft, and other companies still haven’t accepted.
Apple’s Vision Pro headset use case is still vaguely defined. Much needs to be done before emerging technologies like VR improve consumers’ lives. It’s up to Big Tech players to show through extensive data how VR headsets are helping us in our quest for companionship and community.
