A redditor who saw a video of an Apple Vision Pro user hitting a “wall” of WiFi pop-ups called the moment a “Black Mirror-like experience” and how hackers and advertisers are using the VR headset’s impressive immersive features. I’ve speculated about how to use it.
The video, posted to r/virtualreality on Wednesday, shows a person wearing an Apple Vision Pro headset walking through an archway inside the Ebisu Garden Place Tower Sky Lounge in Tokyo. Once through the archway, headset wearers are stopped in their tracks by a window that prompts them to log into a public WiFi network, completely blocking their view.
Despite the surprise, the headset wearer quickly closes the login screen. But at this moment, redditors were wondering what kind of pop-up ads and screens they would encounter while wearing headsets outdoors.
“That’s why you don’t have to walk around with your device auto-connecting to every other device that can find a signal,” u/Disastrous_Ad26 pointed out.
But some people are reveling in the potential for malicious use of this technology.
“Imagine someone walking around with a Vision Pro and hacking/trolling with a jump scare on it,” wrote u/KaHate.
“Put an open doorway on top of a solid wall,” suggested u/feanturi.
“Or a hollow floor,” u/erm_what_ added, somewhat murderously.
“Mixed reality haunted houses sound scary and awesome. Everyone else gets the normal experience, but if you bring in Q3/AVP/etc. you get the extra spooky,” said u/ elheber suggested, referring to Meta’s Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro.
Other redditors were concerned that the technology could deliver a whole new level of intrusive advertising.
“It’s only a matter of time before these things start popping up with ads when you connect to random Wi-Fi,” wrote u/GhostOrToast.
“Don’t give them ideas,” replied u/pyro1sm.
But there’s no need to give advertisers any ideas here. According to an overview of advertising possibilities for the new Apple headset. ExchangeWire, advertisers are already figuring out how best to take advantage of the new immersive experiences people have with products like Vision Pro. An analysis of one experience by Unity found that VR increased his heart rate by 24%, sweat production by 44%, and increased the type of muscle activation that occurs when he smiles by 3x.
The results for ads compared to traditional ads were also significant, with 13.5% of users choosing horror movie trailers. jigsaw puzzle3.7% of users clicked through to the promotional placement, and 70% of users watched the entire 30-second trailer in VR, six times more than for regular video ads.
*First published: February 7, 2024 at 5:46pm CST
Marlon Ettinger
Marlon Ettinger writes about politics, crime, and culture. For tips and ideas please email him at marlonjettinger@gmail.com.
