Virtual Reality (VR) glasses are quietly leading a revolution in both business and healthcare sectors.

Virtual Training

As an example, VR glasses have been utilized in training Kentucky Fried Chicken’s staff on how to fry chicken, training United Parcel Service (UPS) drivers on how to confront road hazards, in addition to training astronauts for space travel.

In the healthcare field, VR glasses have been used in "pain management," aiming to alleviate pain for soldiers and children suffering from cancer. These examples only scratch the surface of VR glasses' diverse applications. With the release of “Apple Vision Pro,” VR glasses have further solidified their place in popular culture. Interestingly, VR glasses have evolved from being a "magical means to escape reality to strange new places" to a "practical tool for accomplishing tasks."

Historical Overview

- 1838: Charles Wheatstone invented the stereoscope, capable of producing two-dimensional images appearing as three-dimensional objects, dubbed as the original “virtual reality” by Smithsonian Magazine.

- 1968: The first actual VR headset was created by Ivan Sutherland, a Harvard professor. One of his students called the invention "The Sword of Damocles," reflecting the ancient story symbolizing power and "imminent danger" by Roman philosopher Cicero. This headset displayed computer-generated images over the user's surrounding environment, resembling an earlier version of the augmented reality settings provided by “Apple Vision Pro.”

- 1980s: The establishment of the first company to sell VR glasses and gloves, “VPL Research Inc.”

- 2021: Mark Zuckerberg renamed Facebook to “Meta,” focusing the company’s efforts on building the “Metaverse” by the “Reality Labs Division.”

- 2023: Apple unveiled “Vision Pro,” glasses for mixed reality.

- By early 2024, companies sell all units through pre-order requests.

The Reality of Virtual Reality

The focus of VR glasses from the 1980s until the first decade of the 21st century was on gaming. Mark Zuckerberg bet heavily on the technology and the “Metaverse,” the digital space inhabited by those wearing VR glasses. Yet, “Meta” glasses, largely marketed to consumers, inflicted significant losses on the company. While Meta’s grand VR promotional campaign did not achieve success, the broader market for VR glasses companies quietly grew. A survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that half of all American companies had already used or planned to use VR glasses in 2022. Companies like Walmart, Verizon, and Intel rely on this technology for employee training.

Moreover, police forces and militaries are turning to VR glasses for training in de-escalation tactics. Universities and hospitals also depend on them as a safer alternative for surgical training.

However, there are negative aspects to these glasses, including their association with dizziness or “cybersickness,” a term referring to symptoms like nausea and headaches experienced while in a virtual environment. Iowa State University research found that cybersickness symptoms are 40% more severe in women. Additionally, there are privacy concerns. For instance, “Apple Vision Pro” "collects more data about you than any other consumer device ever tested... monitoring everything about your body, the people around you, and the spaces,” according to reputable press reports. This could raise significant public privacy issues as the technology becomes more widespread.

By the Numbers

- $67.7 billion: The global market size for virtual reality in 2024, expected to grow to $204 billion by 2029.



- $4.65 billion: The operating loss incurred by Meta’s “Reality Labs Division” in the fourth quarter exceeded analysts' expectations.



- $3,499: The price of “Apple Vision Pro.”



- 75%: The percentage of the world’s highest-valued companies that had already created their own virtual or augmented reality experiences by 2015.



- 51%: The percentage of American companies that had already used or were planning to use virtual or augmented reality in at least one area of operation since 2022.

Zuckerberg is attempting to convince people that “Meta Quest” is superior to “Apple Vision Pro,” focusing his criticism on the latter's high price. Apple, for its part, has avoided overlapping with Meta in the virtual reality space, not once mentioning “Metaverse” while promoting its glasses, “Vision Pro,” and instead opting to use the term “spatial computing.” *Quartz Magazine, Tribune Media Services.