Picture this: it’s date night with your loved one and you’re snuggling up to the latest Fast and Furious reboot with both of you throwing on your Apple Vision Pros. Sounds romantic? Apple’s latest conference has come and gone, and along with it came some rather exciting updates for its flagship headset. Exciting as the news may be, it’s hard not to feel that Apple is searching for an audience with the Vision Pro; and those already alienated by current tech trends may double down on their fears.
During WWDC 2025, Apple announced visionOS 26, which has a myriad of new features including Eye Scrolling and Spatial Widgets, among others. However, one feature really stands out to me, especially the way it was advertised, and that’s the ability for Vision Pro users to share the same spatial environment.
Grab the (Augmented) Popcorn: What to Do with the Vision Pro
Apple touted this new conjoined reality feature by showcasing two individuals on a couch watching the same movie. For me, it’s hard for this not to seem alienating—jogging my memory with hints of Mark Zuckerberg insisting we all want to work in the metaverse. Isn’t this the exact thing Jony Ive is trying to pull us away from? No, not really. However, given that many across the internet already find technology to be somewhat alienating these days, the idea of tying oneself to a device alongside another individual doesn’t exactly scream intimacy.
From the WWDC 2025 feed, it’s obvious that Apple is merely showcasing examples of the Vision Pro’s capabilities. While I doubt that there will be a wealth of people chomping at the bit to watch the latest Brad Pitt vehicle in such a united-yet-separated environment, Apple quickly shifted to more practical applications with the Vision Pro, such as one individual showing another a 3D schematic of a vehicle’s braking system.
For me, this says two things about the Vision Pro. One, I don’t think Apple is even quite sure of the full capabilities of the device, and two, it’s increasingly obvious that the Vision Pro is still well in its infancy. Is it so early in its infancy that it should not have seen release to the public? With the popularity of tech companies releasing alpha/beta products to the masses (looking at you, Humane AI), the Vision Pro was always meant for early adopters. But for a company like Apple, the delivery and execution seems strange.
Who Exactly is the Vision Pro for?
Considering the currently available Vision Pro is still something of a hassle to carry around—the headset is still rather large and that thick battery isn’t going anywhere—it’s a weird sight to see a company as large as Apple essentially say, “here’s what we think this device is going to be great at. . . some day”. Referring back to the two individuals teaching each other vehicle maintenance, this is in fact a great use for the Vision Pro. However, the current generation headset seems far from practical for such an endeavor. Those who know a few mechanics in their life should picture them using a Vision Pro to teach someone right now. Did you laugh?
For me, I think the problem is that a general populace isn’t so willing to adopt the Vision Pro the same way they did an iPhone, and it isn’t necessarily meant to. Though that begs the question, will the Vision Pro gain mass adopters, and what are they going to look like? As someone who tries their best to stay up-to-date with tech, it doesn’t seem like augmented and virtual realities are gaining traction in terms of popularity, and I’m not sure what’s going to change that.
Staying After the Credits
Perhaps it’s a generation growing tired of technology invading all areas of their life. Maybe it’s the fact that Vision Pro may have been released too soon. Maybe I’m an idiot and the Vision Pro is selling tens of thousands of units a day: it could even be a combination of all three.
Whatever the answer may be, the Vision Pro as is certainly needs some changes before it becomes that perfect date night destination, or even a proper teaching instrument in a classroom. While releasing the product early is likely helping smaller developers create great things for the device, things like floating heads and semi-confusing sales pitches are probably not helping its case in terms of winning over the curious.
The future of AR/VR headsets is still incredibly bright, though I can’t help but feel that every company’s insistence that we be the (paying) test subjects is casting dark clouds. While the Vision Pro has an opportunity to turn these clouds into a rainbow, I think it would do Apple good to stop alienating a general audience.