Technology giant Apple Inc AAPL released its highly anticipated Apple Vision Pro headsets on Friday in a move that could advance the world of virtual reality.
The long-running animated comedy “The Simpsons” may have predicted what happens when people wear virtual reality headsets at home and in public.
What Happened: Since the Vision Pro was released, images have gone viral of people wearing the headset on the street or the train. A driver of a Tesla vehicle was even pulled over wearing the Apple Vision Pro while driving.
While a world filled with people all wearing headsets in public could be years or decades away, "The Simpsons" may have predicted the disasters that could happen.
A clip from the 2016 episode titled "Friends and Family" went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter, over the weekend with more than eight million views. In the clip, residents of the fictional town of Springfield are seen wearing a virtual reality headset and subsequently running into light posts, falling down a manhole and laying in bed with a headset on next to a significant other also wearing a headset.
The clip features the Cream song "I Feel Free" playing in the background alluding to a world where headsets and virtual reality have taken over real-life interactions.
Airing on Fox Corporation FOXFOXA owned FOX on Oct. 2, 2016, the episode sees Mr. Burns hiring the Simpsons family to become his live-in virtual reality family, excluding Homer as the dad and replacing him with himself.
The end of the episode features a fast-forward to a couple of years in the future, which is the clip below showing the Springfield residents openly wearing the headsets.
Related Link: Apple Vision Pro Is ‘Mind-Blowing,’ Says CEO Tim Cook: ‘We Live In A 3D World, But The Content That We Enjoy Is Flat’
Why It's Important: Over the years, "The Simpsons" has become known for predicting events that later came true. This includes the merger of Fox and the Walt Disney Company, the launch of FaceTime, the bailout of Greece, introduction of autocorrect, FIFA corruption, the U.S. Men's curling team winning a gold medal and Donald Trump becoming president.
An episode that features Elon Musk voicing himself also may have predicted the acquisition of X.
Apple products or products that closely resemble Apple products (myPod) have been featured in "The Simpsons" episodes in the past.
The episode's 2016 release date comes years before the Vision Pro was released and years before the first Oculus Quest virtual reality headset was released in May 2019. Oculus is now owned by Meta Platforms META.
The Vision Pro comes with a higher price point than the Meta Quest 3 from Meta Platforms at $3,499 compared to $499, respectively.
Early reservations and pre-orders for the Apple Vision Pro were strong and the device could become a hit and new product category for Apple.
Analysts believe the Vision Pro will be a success, but some question the time it will take to get there and if a cheaper price point is needed.
Morgan Stanley sees a ramp-up to two million to four million units annually in the next five years.
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo sees the Vision Pro as a niche product initially. The analyst estimates 160,000 to 180,000 units sold in pre-orders.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives sees a cheaper price down the road.
"We think a few years from now it'll resemble sunglasses and be less than $1,500," Ives told Vanity Fair.
Ives expects 600,000 Vision Pro unit shipments in 2024 driven by strong pre-orders.
AAPL Price Action: Apple shares are up 1.63% to $188.88 on Monday versus a 52-week trading range of $143.90 to $199.62.
Photo: Shutterstock
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