Immersive Innovations  –  VR Technology 

Written by Akela 

This month brought great excitement for some people as Apple released their new product, The Apple Vision Pro, to the public at the beginning of this month. This is the first significant new product to be released by Apple Inc. since the Apple Watch launched in 2015, which caught the eyes of the leading public. Unfortunately, I have not seen this innovative device in real life, but numerous online reviews have provided insights into the user experience. 

Like any other new release digital product, the reviews are on the fence from various perspectives. It is not a surprise that the first thing people care about most is the price of this advice. The high price limited many people all over the world to afford it. However, many people would assume that Vision Pro would have a higher quality than others for its brand, Apple and its price of $3,000 or more, which is chucklesome. From my experience of using Apple products, I do understand this perspective. But regarding cost-effectiveness and overall user experience, the Quest seems more appealing and practical than other headsets. 

In some other aspects, we can’t technically compare the Vision Pro with the Quest because, regarding the Vision Pro’s app on the App Store, Apple explicitly prohibits the use of acronyms like AR, VR, MR, and XR. Instead, the app is referred to as ‘spatial,’ which leads to all the experiences by the spatial computing app.  

Reflecting on my initial encounter with VR devices during volunteer work at V-Unframed, where Meta Quest headsets dominated the exhibition, I witnessed the broad appeal of VR technology across different age groups. It is not surprising to see people’s interest and eagerness to explore these new devices through their own virtual experiences. 

All in all, the convergence of new technology and human curiosity is becoming increasingly apparent. No matter the exploration of VR technology or the latest Vision Pro released by Apple, they all shared the same eagerness to embrace the possibilities of the virtual world. How will the continuous evolution influence immersive technologies in our actual daily lives in the future?