This may sound like a statement of the blindingly obvious, but it was said nonetheless.
US Transportation Secretary Steve Buttigieg has warned drivers not to get behind the wheel of their car while wearing Apple’s new Vision Pro for mixed reality.
Yes, it seems that wearing an unwieldy Apple headset while driving down the highway at top speed is unlikely to improve your driving skills, but instead send you into an immovable object that certainly won’t be virtual or augmented, but very real.
You see, the Vision Pro, for the uninitiated, is not a head-up display offering enhanced driving capabilities. His “spatial computer“, according to Apple. In other words, it’s a device designed to increase your productivity, a machine designed to almost — but not quite — replace your Mac, a gadget offering entertainment options that Do involve driving in a car with many distractions and an obscured view.
Buttigieg felt the need to state the obvious after seeing the video of the man wearing the Vision Pro headset while driving the Cybertruck. We say “management,” but here we use the term in the loosest possible sense. After all, the person behind the wheel is shown with both hands off the wheel—hopefully, the vehicle is at least on Autopilot—while making a series of hand gestures that show he’s very engaged in performing various tasks within the Vision. For.
“Reminder – ALL advanced assistance systems available today require a human driver to be in control and fully engaged at all times,” Buttigieg wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Under a headline on Apple’s website that says, “Use your Apple Vision Pro safely,” the tech company explains that the device has “built-in safety features to help prevent crashes and drops,” though those “collisions” refer to the type where you can hit the wall, not hit the back of the bus.
Apple didn’t tell drivers not to use Vision Pro while driving because they took it for granted. However, it may now need to add such an instruction to its website.
So far, the company has released ads and other promotional materials showing the headset being used at home and on a plane (by passengers, not pilots, but give it time). During one-on-one demonstrations of the Vision Pro at the Apple Store for potential Apple customers even create a “living room” environment. to make the experience as realistic as possible. It doesn’t have a car interior next to it.
Whether Vision Pro customers heed Buttigieg’s warning remains to be seen, but we have a feeling it won’t be too long before we read about the first person being pulled over for wearing a headset while driving.