Comparing the Apple Vision Pro with Predictions: Metaverse or Metaworse?

By Numaan Huq, Roel Reyes

In August 2022, Trend Micro released a whitepaper called Metaverse or Metaworse? Cybersecurity Threats Against the Internet of Experiences. During this time, the world was grappling with the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, remote work was commonplace, Meta was investing billions in building the metaverse, and ChatGPT 3.5 was set for a full release in November 2022.

To gain insight into potential cyber threats facing the metaverse, we conducted thorough research in early 2022. As ChatGPT evolved and ChatGPT 4 was unveiled in March 2023, global interest shifted towards an AI-driven future, particularly generative AI (GenAI). Unfortunately, the metaverse was overshadowed by this new technology. We noted that the metaverse lacked a robust headset and integrated operating environment, causing interest to dwindle.

Evaluating the Apple Vision Pro as a Metaverse Headset

In June 2023, Apple introduced the Apple Vision Pro (AVP), a spatial computer operating on visionOS, a mixed reality OS. This announcement was significant as it presented a headset that could potentially fulfill metaverse promises. The AVP was launched in the US in February 2024 with region restrictions, later expanding to Canada, Australia, and select EU countries by July 2024. Acquiring a fully functional unit with global access required coordination across regions, leading to delays. Besides exploring the device and developing visionOS apps, we compared the AVP to the metaverse headset criteria outlined in our Metaverse or Metaworse paper published prior to the AVP’s debut, predicting features needed for an immersive experience.