The new normal?: Bizarre footage captures people living out VR in public just days after Apple launch Vision Pro

5 February 2024, 12:54 | Updated: 5 February 2024, 13:07

By Jasmine Moody

The Vision Pro may have only launched three days ago in the US, but videos are already emerging online with people wearing Apple’s newest eye tech in some risky situations in public.

People have been pictured with the headgear on in public, with social media users comparing the scenes to something out of 1984.

One video, which was originally posted to TikTok but reposted on X/Twitter, shows a man immersed in virtual reality whilst walking across a road, gesturing with his hands.

One person compared the video to the American action film Ready Player One. Another called it "dystopian".

But others said people wearing the device in public will only become increasingly common.

One said: "As stupid as it looks/sounds wouldn’t surprise me if everyone was hooked up to a headset in their house forever within 20 years."

Another X/Twitter user posted a photo of two people eating at a table, both with the headset on, captioning it: "Not a cell phone in sight, just two friends, present in the moment, enjoying a meal together."

Vision Pros are not only being used in the streets but also on the roads.

One person was filmd driving without their hands - instead using the device to control their eye tech.

Road Safety experts have issued warnings after drivers were filmed at the wheel wearing Apple’s new virtual reality headset - the Vision Pro.

David Reich, spokesman for the National Road Safety Foundation said: "The idea of anyone using them when not in a self-driving car would be disastrous.

"You have to focus on driving; this is the task in hand,” said Mr Reich, whose organisation aims to improve driving standards through education.

"This seems to me like a major distraction"

Cathy Chase, the president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, was also horrified at this new road distraction.

She told The Telegraph: "While new technologies like virtual reality offer an exciting way to experience the world around us, they have no place behind the wheel of a car.

"Any behaviour that takes a driver’s focus off the task of driving is dangerous and irresponsible and puts all of us at serious risk of death or injury, especially vulnerable road users like pedestrians.

"Let’s instead promote technology like advanced driver assistance systems that can actually save lives."

The Vision Pro is Apple's "first spatial operating system" - which brings together the digital and real world.

"It is the result of decades of experience designing high‑performance, mobile, and wearable devices — culminating in the most ambitious product Apple has ever created.

"Apple Vision Pro integrates incredibly advanced technology into an elegant, compact form, resulting in an amazing experience every time you put it on", according to the tech giant.