Apple has launched its latest product, Vision Pro, via a campaign video that some have labelled as ‘sad’ and ‘dystopian’, and are likening to the sci-fi television series, Black Mirror.
In Vision Pro’s 9-minute introductory video released yesterday, users are depicted experimenting with a range of different features offered by the futuristic augmented reality headset.
However, as one eagle-eyed Twitter user spotted, one scene in the video depicts a parental figure wearing the headset, in the presence of two young children who play on the floor by themselves.
The tweet, which since its publication yesterday has received over 146 thousand likes, was captioned, ‘I gotta admit, this part made me a bit sad’.
Many agreed with the original commenter, saying the video campaign and product were normalising screen time around children and encouraging parents to spend time on their devices, leaving their children alone.
I gotta admit, this part made me a bit sad. pic.twitter.com/aLHqc9hPKi
— Tobias van Schneider (@vanschneider) June 5, 2023
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While some pointed it out it appeared the adult was simply recording the moment, others weren’t too sure.
One user thought the campaign’s angle felt ‘really terrible and dystopian’ and another added that the whole idea was ‘poorly conceived’.
Multiple users pointed out the resemblance to dark dystopian TV shows including Black Mirror, a speculative fiction in which many episodes feature similar AR type technology to comment on contemporary social issues.
Further comparisons were made with psychological science films including Inception, Minority Report and Interstellar.
However, not all users were left disturbed by the Vision Pro campaign; one user perhaps welcomed the opportunity to get some alone time from their children, commenting: “I think this is when I was sold”.
Vision Pro is the latest in a series of AR headset products being launched by the burgeoning industry, and a first for technology giant Apple.
