We are an advanced unhappy society
We have come far as a people
We have gone from riding on horses as a necessity to riding horses for leisure, some properties are located on equestrian estates with enough space for your horses to roam around like free-range chickens
We have gone from riding bicycles that can be purchased in the spur of the moment, as you buy groceries at big retailers, to bicycles that cost as much as some country's GDP. These bicycles are now getting repossessed and auctioned off but let me not digress.
We have gone from coins and ledger books as a currency to cheque books (there are still some very developed countries that use cheque books) to credit cards, cryptocurrency, and high-volume trading as a means to cause the next economic recession.
We have gone from watching moving pictures on a screen to having a screen in your arm to having a screen in your face. The distance to the screen has decreased exponentially. I still remember having to move the bunny ears to a certain position just to get a clearer picture
Enter the Apple Vision Pro
After much hype and expectation, the Apple Vision Pro has come into consumers' hands. Youtuber after Youtuber has reviewed the goggles, from Marques Blownlee to Casey Neistat (I have included links to their videos right at the bottom)
Thoughts on device
Design
Nothing says premium more than metal, you can feel the brushed aluminum from just looking at it, it’s technology-packed but doesn't look it.
Verdict — 9/10, I would rate it a 10/10 if there was no need for a power bank. I'm sure the next iteration will include built-in light-weight batteries
Experience
Apple really thinks about the experience. The one feature I am most fond of is that the spatial-engineered interface disappears when you start moving. This is great for safety’s sake.
Verdict — 8/10
Price
At $3500 it's not for everyone, but as Apple states — the technology you get is worth more. As competitors pop up and materials become cheaper the price-point will decrease. Apple is only targeting 400K sales of the Vision Pro. For comparison, Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro Max shipped 26.5 million units between Jan — June 2023.
Verdict — 7/10
We are an advanced unhappy society
All this tech is all good and well but what about mental health? smartphone screens have had an enormous impact on modern society with couples going out for dinner and staring at phones the entire night, the craving for that dopamine hit when a notification comes in is a pandemic in itself.
We are becoming more isolated and lonely as a people and screens are a large contributor, social connections are digital. Suicide rates, texting while driving accidents are up and Vision Pro takes screen time to an addictive level.
Hopefully, the price will stay high, and mass consumer adoption will not be reached hopefully, the Youtubers will be the only ones walking around grabbing at imaginary objects out of the sky.
I worry about the impact at schools, churches, and dinner tables. I imagine kids watching Netflix while chilling in a lecture and a congregation drifting off to do online shopping during a service.
We are a disconnected society that's addicted to dopamine hits from notification chimes and the Apple Vision Pro will take it to the next level.
We are an advanced unhappy society
