The word ‘dystopian’ has been thrown around by some while describing Apple Vision Pro, and now we’ve seen our first glimpse into just how uncomfortable and creepy it could be.
We’re all used to getting pop-ups and reminders on our phones and MacBooks as the Wi-Fi goes out, or cell reception gets spotty — but what if those pop-ups appeared directly in front of you as you round a corner in a hotel on the way back to your room? That’s exactly what happened to one early Vision Pro adopter, who immediately took their experience to the r/virtualreality subreddit.
BOO
Someone walking with a Vision Pro and gets hit with a black mirror like experience from r/virtualreality
This time the scare was just a Wi-Fi pop-up, reminding the user that the hotel Wi-Fi had been disconnected. It does seem to give them a surprise, however harmless it may be, as they leap back from the pop-up, clicking the prompt buttons as quickly as possible to get it out of their line of sight.
Pop-ups like this are a necessary evil of a device like the Vision Pro. Just like the best iPhone or the best MacBook, the device needs to tell you when things disconnect or when they stop working. The difference is that Vision Pro has to put them in front of your face, given that it’s the only way to interface with the device. It could be, however, a whole lot scarier — and potentially terrifying, should advertisers get their hands on it.
Imagine the scene — you’re enjoying a nice relaxing John Coltrane listening session, the environment set to a rainforest. You’re thirsty, so you briefly turn off the environment and make your way to the kitchen when BAM! Your home Wi-Fi goes down, only to be replaced by the apartment block Wi-Fi — replete with ads. A massive face appears before you, recounting all the best apartment prices and how you can get them. You leap back to avoid the sudden onslaught of pop-ups, your lovely relaxing time with Vision Pro and John Coltrane ruined by a completely unnecessary interruption. Invasive pop-ups might not happen — but this could be an advertiser's dream.
More likely, perhaps, are massive pop-ups that might come with using third-party apps. A game with an intrusive real-world ad for extra payments, or a trial for an app that ends with a massive window, shattering the spatial illusion.
If nothing else, perhaps Apple should make the warning pop-ups a little less serial killer and a bit more subtle. But then we wouldn’t see them, would we? Designing things is hard.
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