The idea of wearing a headset for a prolonged period of time doesn’t sound appealing, does it? Till now it had been about virtual reality, augmented reality, and some morsels of the metaverse. Who really wants to extend their daily digital existence into virtual reality? But how does spatial computing sound? Less intimidating, more personal and somewhat cool, right?

In reality (no pun intended), it is insanely cool, exorbitantly priced and goes by the name of Vision Pro, an all-new headset from Apple. I did get a chance to spend a decent amount of time with Vision Pro to perhaps get a glimpse into the immense potential it holds.

Vision Pro has two ultra-high resolution displays that cram an incredible 23 million pixels, 12 cameras, five sensors and six microphones, and two ridiculously fast processors (one that powers the Mac devices). All that is actually inside a headset.

Apple had organised a demo session which started off with an eye check-up. I wear glasses and to ensure that the Vision Pro experience isn’t blurry, Apple quickly customised the display, as per the power of my lenses. A spatial test followed to make sure the listening experience is on point.

Here’s what you have to understand: Vision Pro works on just three things — your voice, your eyes and your fingers. The cameras track everything — the inside ones your eyes and the external ones your hand movement. Simply pinch in thin air and you can close apps, or scroll up and down in Safari.

Vision Pro does look daunting but can be customised to get the right fit, so there isn’t too much fatigue. Wore it for close to 35 minutes and it wasn’t too uncomfortable And that’s perhaps because what unfolds when you wear it is a big reason. Though if you wear it for prolonged periods of time, you are bound to feel a bit heavy and uncomfortable.The Vision Pro can quickly transform wherever you’re sitting into a theatre-like space. The room goes pitch dark, the screen becomes like a theatre screen and the audio effects are really good. The one thing that certainly stood out was Apple Immersive Video — something that easily has the potential to move people from the sceptics camp to the converts camp.Immersive videos actually take you to where the content is happening. So if you watch a football match, then you are actually transported to the goal side–it feels surreal.

The challenge, however, will be to create that sort of content and have other stakeholders — Disney is already on board — reimagine how people view that content.

You can do calls, use the Mac, watch content, and yet not feel disconnected even while wearing the headset.

Apple has cheekily named a feature called EyeSight which actually makes the device transparent as it lets you see when someone’s in your vicinity while also displaying the user’s eyes. When a user is, for instance, on a FaceTime call, EyeSight gives visual cues to others about what the user is focused on.

Vision Pro is a product that holds immense potential but remains nascent.

Can developers create content for spatial computing? Are buyers interested in spending a lot of time wearing a headset for hours? There are many questions but the $3,499 question is, can Apple really sell it as a device that people need? It will in all probability remain a niche product for a few years to come. Yet it has the potential to become the next ‘iPhone moment,’ not just for Apple but the entire tech industry.