This Apple Vision Pro Party Looks Like a Dystopian Tech Nightmare

Apple’s new Vision Pro device launched earlier this month to fanfare from techies across the country. While the $3,500 price tag is prohibitively expensive for many people, several Silicon Valley residents have taken the plunge and splurged on the computing headset. Naturally, this has already led to exclusive Vision Pro-only parties. 

Earlier this month, the AI collective Cerebral Valley held a dance party celebrating the device’s release at a members-only club in San Francisco. The DJs curating the vibes wore the flashy goggles behind the decks, as did the attendees moving to the beat. It turns out the hottest new dance moves include pinching the air and swiping your fingers from side to side. 

Startup founder Alex Reibman was there and told The San Francisco Standard about the first-of-its-kind event. “Instead of doing the boring tech talk, they threw a rave,” he said. “It was like a cross between a science fair and a music festival.” 

just a typical night in SF pic.twitter.com/UkhVSM68aj

— Michelle Fang ? (@michelleefang) February 3, 2024

While people were gathered together in a space with music blasting, it certainly didn’t feel like a party in the traditional sense. Because people were watching YouTube videos or playing in virtual reality during the party, there was limited face-to-face connection—both figuratively and literally—among the partygoers. 

“You saw people pinching stuff in the air with their fingers,” Reibman recounted. “It’s almost as if they kind of enter their own dimensions.”

The Vision Pro creates such a barrier between people that Reibman said it’s become harder to get a read on people wearing it. “It was almost like during COVID, right, when everybody started wearing a mask,” he said. “It’s like, they’re talking to you, and you know they’re emoting behind the mask, but you can’t really see it.”

And the Vision Pro isn’t just infiltrating the dance floor. They’ve also started to become a staple at dinner parties in Silicon Valley. 

its not really an sf dinner party anymore without a couple of vision pros pic.twitter.com/TRcElNv8ut

— Nick Linck (@nick_linck) February 7, 2024

If you want to get in on the action at the next big party, all you need to do is shell out a couple thousand dollars.