If you are walking or driving around Greensboro and see someone who looks like a giant ant, or like someone who just got off the slopes at Aspen but forgot his or her skis, don’t worry – everything’s OK. It’s just that, in Greensboro – as in other cities around the country – fellow residents are starting to wear Apple Vision Pro, the new mixed reality goggles from the iPhone maker.
Apple has been selling the devices online and through the Apple Store at Friendly Shopping Center for nearly a week now and, already, area residents are starting to wear them out and about.
The goggles let users see the world around them while also allowing them to do all sorts of things such as checking text messages, watching movies, working on virtual computer screens, browsing Safari or doing hundreds of other things.
The fact that the goggles are controlled by hand gestures make the ant-like people look even stranger to onlookers because Vision Pro users are constantly waving their hands in the air, pinching their fingers together and pulling virtual objects closer to them.
Before the devices launched early this month, many people scoffed at the idea that anyone would buy a relatively heavy headset that looks strange and has a starting cost of $3,500, but Apple sold out online within hours, and now the wait times for purchases has been pushed back to March, though the goggles are sometimes available in Apple Stores.
Currently, the devices are only sold in the US, and in other countries people are paying thousands more than the retail price to get the headset.
The Vision Pro has been described by reviewers as “amazing,” “next-level” and “magical.”
The Apple Store at Friendly has had a steady stream of people coming in for free demonstrations, and one young boy who was leaving the store last weekend after experiencing the presentation had a huge smile on his face and told his father he was “blown away.”
In other parts of the country, people have been spotted driving while wearing the headsets as well as using them on planes.
Apple is selling them as fast as they can make them – so area residents should expect to see a lot more ant-people out and about waiving their hands in the future.
Maria Malik is your guide to the immersive world of Virtual Reality (VR). With a passion for VR technology, she explores the latest VR headsets, applications, and experiences, providing readers with in-depth reviews, industry insights, and a glimpse into the future of virtual experiences.
