Apple Vision Pro headset could pave way for mass adoption of AR, VR: Cdn. tech firms

CTV National News: Apple unveils ‘Vision Pro’ Apple unveils its new ‘Vision Pro’ VR headset that is set to be released in early 2024. John Vennavally-Rao reports.

TORONTO — Canadian tech companies say Apple's new Vision Pro headset is giving them hope that augmented and virtual reality wearables could catch on with consumers and businesses.

The headset unveiled Monday creates an augmented reality experience where wearers can connect with one another, conduct meetings, watch movies or even play games.

Vision Pro will be available next year and retail for US$3,499, but precursors such as Meta's Oculus headsets or Google Glass have yet to reach widespread adoption because of their high cost, lack of existing use cases and the time it takes to get used to the devices.

XpertVR founder Evan Sitler-Bates thinks Vision Pro will pave the way for mass adoption because Apple excels at focusing on the user experience and designing products in an intuitive and easy-to-use way.

His company uses VR to train firefighters, medical and human resources professionals, but he believes Vision Pro could spur even more companies to experiment with such software.

Raja Khanna, whose company Lumento trains doctors and nurses with VR, believes there's still more work to be done for headsets to be mass adopted by, but he sees Vision Pro as validating the work tech companies have already done in the space.