There were definitely pictures of the glasses looking very sleek against a black background. Mixed in was a neat video of happy individuals comfortably using the product in their pink homes and anonymous hotel rooms.
But the lack of an actual person on stage in Cupertino, California, wearing the product was a notable omission. As was the fact that no one talked about the design other than its functionality – and the fact that the device allows others to see the wearer’s eyes, a real step forward in the world of headset style. (He didn’t even say the word “wearable,
Still, if any company should know how much aesthetics matter in turning a piece of tech into an accessory for life, it’s Apple. This has always been part of its uniqueness, starting with the iMac in its many colors. That’s how the iPod and iPhone made the jump from consumer goods to markers of taste and identity. With their rounded corners and slim lines, they looked great; So smooth and cool. They inspire desire, just as a great handbag does, even before utility is taken into account.
And there may not be a device that Apple has made where aesthetics would matter as much as on this one.
No one is hiding it. This may be why tech companies have struggled with glasses, an accessory they ostensibly is the next frontier in personal technology, but which no one has ever quite cracked: no. google with his glasses Or Meta with Ray-Ban Collabspeech or its Balmain x Oculus, If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then what you put around them matters in a profound way.
By making the Vision Pro more like goggles, Apple is wading into preexisting stereotypes, personality clichés, and the shoals of history. We choose glasses for all kinds of reasons: to look smart, to look cool, to look glamorous; To look like Gloria Steinem or Jack Nicholson or John Lennon. Above all, to appear personal. And walking around with half your face covered by glass, no matter how curved the screen is, is an indicator for pod people. (On the other hand, if you secretly fancy looking like Eileen Gu, this might be for you.)
To be fair, that probably will change. Maybe by the time the headset hits stores next year, which costs around $3,500, the headstraps will be available in a variety of colors and materials, and the device itself will come in a shade other than Putty, allowing for some sort of self-disassembly. Expression will be allowed. , Maybe it’s possible to dazzle the glasses (which would be fun) or add stickers or decorate the cord. Apple has clearly worked very hard on the fit with all sorts of adjustable components, which is something. And it weighs only around a pound.
