If you've been following the buzz around Apple Vision Pro lately, chances are you've heard the headset referred to as dystopian. Whether it is due to the headset's ominous and isolating design, or the scores of people using it in socially-unacceptable places, not many people seem to be excited about a Vision Pro future. Apple's virtual reality headset — or spatial computer, as it would prefer to call it — is far from the first VR headset to come to market. However, it is the first one to bring the idea of spatial computing mainstream.

Spatial computing is a type of interaction with a computer where a user views and manipulates items in their real-world environment. Definitions can vary, but in general, spatial computing can replace the physical device you typically interact with in favor of a virtual or augmented version. For example, instead of using a great laptop and a keyboard, you could use a virtual keyboard and display without the need for physical hardware. The key here is that you can see your real-world environment in 3D, so it's as if you're computing in physical space.

But aside from tech enthusiasts, the public is far from convinced that spatial computing is a future worth looking forward to. In part, that's because many believe that spatial computers and mixed-reality headsets will only add more screens to their lives. However, the goal of spatial computing is actually the opposite.

Why Apple Vision Pro feels dystopian

It isn't true spatial computing, because Vision Pro uses virtual reality

I will concede that in their current state, many mixed-reality headsets feel a little dystopian. That's especially true of the larger ones, like Vision Pro and the Meta Quest lineup, which swallow up most of your head and face. There are plenty of tech products that feel impossibly small, but spatial computers just aren't there yet.

Despite the technological advancements Apple made with Vision Pro, it's still a VR headset, and those are isolating. Apple tried to fix this with EyeSight, a feature that shows your eyes on an outward-facing display made lifelike with lenticular lenses. However, the public consensus is that EyeSight only makes Vision Pro feel more dystopian. It's true that a world where everyone goes through life wearing a Vision Pro or Meta Quest headset is quite dystopian, but we have to remember that these headsets do not represent the end goal of spatial computing.

In fact, they might not be spatial computers at all. Both the Vision Pro and Meta Quest headsets have passthrough modes that attempt to recreate your real-world environment in real time in virtual reality. The cameras and sensors capture your surroundings, and then render them in a 3D, virtual reality space. This has a few issues, like motion blur on Vision Pro and lesser quality on Meta Quest. Either way, current spatial computers use virtual reality instead of augmented reality. This fundamentally contrasts with the goal of spatial computing, which is to allow users to interact with things in their physical space — not a virtualized version of it.

Spatial computing will augment reality

Someday, we will be able to interact with computers in the real world with AR

Eventually, spatial computers will cut out the virtualized passthrough layer and simply project computing elements directly on your environment. Funny enough, Microsoft has already done this with the HoloLens and HoloLens 2. While the HoloLens might look like a typical VR headset, it isn't one. You can still see your surroundings at all times while using it, which makes the HoloLens an augmented reality headset rather than a virtual reality headset.

There are a lot of things that need to happen before a device like the HoloLens goes mainstream. However, it's safe to say the HoloLens 2 is closer to the devices of the future than any VR headset available today. We don't know for sure, but it is reasonable that Apple chose VR over AR for its first headset because it wanted to hit targets that are not currently possible with AR. For example, Vision Pro has a resolution of 4K per eye, which far exceeds that of the HoloLens 2. With that being said, the future of Apple's Vision product line is likely augmented reality — when the technology is ready.

Augmented reality will go a long way to making devices like Apple Vision Pro feel less dystopian. It will let users see the world around them as it exists, with their own eyes, and without the need for screens in between. Ideally, these devices will become so small that they are not intrusive, like smart glasses are today.

It'll replace existing devices

Spatial computers can make using technology less intrusive and more simple

A good product for comparison is the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, which pack a camera, speakers, and some smart features into the form factor of a normal pair of sunglasses. I've worn Meta Ray-Bans for months now, and that means I've had a camera and speakers affixed to my face for nearly all hours of each day. However, that doesn't mean I've listened to music or taken photos any more than I usually would. It just means that when I want to do those things, it's easier and quicker to do so with the Meta Ray-Bans than putting on a pair of headphones or pulling out a camera.

This is what I think the future holds for spatial computing. One day, the technology will get so small that you can wear spatial computers daily without much intrusion. It won't add screens to your life, but rather replace them. Instead of pulling out your phone to respond to a text or taking out a laptop to work on a project, you could do the same thing on a spatial computer with far less intrusion and effort. I wear Meta Ray-Bans daily, and 90% of the time, they're just prescription glasses. Ideally, future spatial computers look like normal glasses and stay out of the way when you don't need them in a similar way.

It's worth noting that this kind of future is likely a decade or more away. The technology needs to improve a lot before the augmented-reality, spatial-computing experience I described becomes reality. But when it does arrive, spatial computing will reduce the amount of screens in our lives and feel anything but dystopian.