Apple released its first virtual reality experience, Apple Vision Pro, earlier this month as a way for users to navigate the digital space while still being active in the real world. Released on Feb. 2 and priced at $3,500, Apple has received a sizable amount of backlash and disappointment from early adopters.
The product is designed for multitasking whether it be navigating while walking in public, scrolling social media on the bus or watching a T.V. show while doing the dishes, Apple has outlined countless uses for the device.
While it is both a VR and AR device, Apple discourages people from calling it as such. They have reportedly told many of their app developers to “refer to your app as a spatial computing app,” rather than describing it using AR or VR. It is unclear exactly why Apple has taken this stance, but it is speculated that the lackluster sales of many other VR experiences may be to blame.
The product has recently made news again with its two-week return period expiring for initial customers. The numbers are not staggering, but they are unusually high for a new Apple product, with some stores reporting as many as eight returns in a single day.
Apple fans and tech reviewers have expressed their concerns with the product over the past weeks saying, “The device is simply too heavy, too cumbersome to manage, headache-inducing and uncomfortable.”
Other complaints include a lack of apps and general content, the field of view being too narrow, it not being any more productive than using a Mac or an iPad and just generally ridiculous-looking to use in public.
Partially fueled by its price, social media has been flooded with people using their Apple Vision Pro’s in increasingly odd ways in public. The headset involves the user physically moving screens in front of their eyes with their hands, so naturally countless videos emerged of people flailing their arms around while in casual foot traffic.
Videos such as these as well as users running into walls or tripping on curbs have done nothing to strengthen the product’s brand. Additionally, footage of people using the device while driving poses its own set of issues, as using a VR headset in the driver’s seat would almost certainly qualify as distracted driving.