My experience with Apple’s Vision Pro

After my unusual and impressive experience with Apple’s Vision Pro, I confess that I was left with the flea behind my ear, writes Fernando Goldsztein
This text is about Apple , the most valuable company on the planet valued at almost three trillion dollars. This is a difficult number for our minds to process. To help – or hinder – I compare it with the sum of all companies listed on the Brazilian stock exchange. They are Itaú, Bradesco, Petrobras, Vale, Weg, Ambev, Banco do Brasil and another 370 companies. Because, believe it or not, Apple is worth three times the value of all of them combined.

Apple, as everyone knows, is the result of the genius of Steve Jobs . When he died in 2011, crowds held a vigil in his honor. Fans around the world took to the streets with the image of a lit candle on their iPads and iPhones. Jobs was the first, and perhaps last, businessman to be idolized like a rock star or a super athlete.

Jobs was a visionary and, as such, was able to conceive revolutionary ideas. And, he convinced people to do things they thought were impossible. This was his great skill.

Jobs had a relentless focus on making technology simple, easy to use, and enjoyable. In addition, of course, to the obsession with product aesthetics and customer experience. Contrary to what many believed, Jobs’ death did not dampen Apple’s spirit of innovation, which continued to launch spectacular and disruptive products.

I am a loyal customer. I have an iPhone, iPad, IMac and AirPod. Honestly, I don’t know if I would survive without my AirPods nowadays, but that’s a topic for another text.

Recently, in Washington, I decided to go into an Apple store and try out the weird Vision Pro, the virtual reality glasses that are being sold for 3,500 dollars (17,500 reais). After scheduling and waiting for a long time, I was attended to by the salesman Dante. The Vision Pro was brought in by another employee on a tray, as if it were a piece of jewelry, especially for me to test.

Dante began the demonstration following an organized and informative script. He explained that the experience would last 30 minutes and that he would need to read the strength of my glasses (I wear 4.5). This is to adapt the Vision Pro to my vision, eliminating the need for my glasses.

In those 30 minutes I traveled to the glaciers of Iceland, the fiords of Norway, the coast of France, among other destinations. The image definition and 360-degree view are breathtaking. The feeling is that we are literally in that place, within the landscape.

The humanized photos are also incredible. In a birthday photo, I felt like I was at the table with the other guests. The cake with the candles was so real that I wanted to stretch my arm out to
taste it.

Finally, when I finished the “test drive” and removed the Vision Pro, the impression was that I had just returned from a trip. Impressive! I experienced the almost complete sensation of being in all those places. However, despite being excited, I didn’t have the courage to invest 3,500 dollars in that device.

I left that store fascinated and, at the same time, worried. Where are we going to stop? Will we still take real trips in the future? Will we visit our friends’ houses? Or will everything be virtual? What is the limit of technology?

It is clear that the travel experience is not restricted to vision and hearing, which is what Vision Pro offers. And the feeling of stepping on grass? To put your feet in the water? Or to taste a tasty typical dish? Will it be possible, in the future, to have something that also replaces touch, taste and smell?

I’ve read about experiments with tactile clothes (which simulate the physical sensations of touch) and even synthetic smells and fragrances, but I always thought it was all nonsense. However, after my unusual and impressive experience with Vision Pro, I confess that I was left with a flea behind my ear.