There’s a lot of debate about the long-term viability of VR. People have waited for Apple to enter the fold thinking it will change the landscape. But my primary issues with VR involve sickness, account authentication, learning curve, and lack of a “killer app” it needs. I’ve already written why Vision Pro sucks for women, but there’s plenty more holding VR back.
Pavlovian Sickness
For many users, VR headaches are nearly inevitable. There’s motion and possible flickering combined with pressure all around the head and on the face. Users who ignore a VR headache can inadvertently train the brain to associate the headset with a headache. That’s why it’s important to remove the headset immediately when you start to feel sick to avoid the association risk.
Accounts & Keyboards
Account creation or sign-in using a VR headset is nearly always a pain, especially for long passwords containing special characters. Some VR apps generate codes to authenticate using another device, but that adds friction, especially when using an app for the first time. Third-party apps can’t usually take advantage of unified login, especially if they already run in 2D.
Learning Curve
VR is a solitary experience. This can make it more difficult to guide someone using a headset for the first time. If you have a TV, there may be some way to mirror or cast the video feed to an external display for an on-looker, but that’s additional hardware. Even in person, it can be difficult to guide someone through a complex flow. I know this from experience.
We should not expect mainstream users to embrace VR headsets as primary devices, especially in a business setting. For the average VR user, the headset is likely to remain a third device (in addition to phone, tablet, and computer). Developers have spent years searching for the “killer app” for VR, but we have yet to find it. That’s not to say it could never exist, but most VR users use headsets to play games and beyond casual games for the iPhone and iPad, Apple has not proven terribly successful at courting developers to bring their immersive AAA games to the Mac. The initial user base for the Vision Pro will be small and it could prove difficult to justify the cost of development.
Full Disclosure: I own stock in META and a few of its VR headsets.
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