The Apple Vision Pro augmented reality headset has become one of the most talked-about gadgets around, but police are warning users to continue to cross the street the old-fashioned way.
The San Diego Police Department issued the advisory Monday after footage went viral on Instagram showing a man walking across a downtown street and apparently accessing a virtual menu while a police patrol car and several officers were just yards away.
The original video was shot by event producer Michael Ciccone, posted to his Instagram account and shared by the San Diego Humor account, where it has generated almost 12,000 likes so far. Police did not see the funny side of it.
“A video making its rounds online shows our patrol team in Central Division ‘face-to-face’ with the future — a pedestrian donning the latest Apple Vision Pro headset while walking in the street downtown,” the department said in a post on its Instagram page. “It was a sight that had us pausing in bewilderment. While we’re all for exploring new dimensions and technology, let’s remember the importance of pedestrian safety.”
The statement continued: “Keep those virtual experiences on the sidewalk, folks, and let’s cross streets the old-fashioned way — with our eyes wide open to the real world, unobstructed and without distractions!”
Later Monday, San Diego Humor posted video shot from the point of view of the man wearing the Apple headset — San Diego resident Vlad Kislov — showing that he was accessing a music menu to change a song while walking across the street.
This latest video was accompanied by “Break My Stride,” the 1983 synth-pop hit by Matthew Wilder, but the headset was apparently playing a song by the Russian rapper ATL.
The $3,500 headset allows users to see a variety of apps and content while interacting with the real world. Some have hailed it as the beginning of a new era of wearable technology, while others have described as something from a dystopian nightmare.
