I Had a Vision (Pro) of the Future

I tried out the Apple Vision Pro today. To be sure, it will change a lot of things about our lives, and the practice of law is definitely one of them. I was pretty clueless about the Vision Pro before my boyfriend booked us for demos at the Apple Store. It’s an impressive new gadget. Like its i-siblings (iPod, iPhone), this product will, without a doubt, revolutionize something and completely change the way we do some other essential daily function. But this post is not an unboxing video (I wish) or a wholistic review of the Vision Pro. Instead, I want to share some brief thoughts about how this device may completely change what the “law firm of the future” looks like.

Before going in for the demonstration, I jotted down some notes about what I was expecting. I expected it to be slow, to lag a bit, and I couldn’t imagine it handling the same as a desktop computer once we get a few apps running simultaneously. I also had doubts about the user interface and feared it may feel “clunky” and non-intuitive.

Me at the Apple Store demo

The straps are adjustable and the headset itself comes in many different sizes to accommodate different size faces. Before the demo, an employee scanned my face using an app to find the right size.

Since there isn't a traditional screen, the Vision Pro is controlled using hand gestures, voice and sight (it tracks where you look!). And indeed, the user interface was a little non-intuitive for a first time user, but then again so was the click wheel on the iPod, and we all figured that out eventually. Likewise, the performance naturally slows a bit with more apps open, but these are the details that will be hammered out in subsequent versions, which Apple will slowly release over many years, making me purchase each version one at a time, adding up to tens of thousands of dollars for over the course of my life. But the shiny-new-thing tax is never cheap.

Suddenly, I was suddenly standing in a lush, green alpine meadow. The demonstration took me into a mode which creates an “immersive workspace.” The environment completely surrounded me, 360 degrees. Floating in the air, just a few feet away, was my Safari window, where I was browsing the web. In another window, floating by the tops of the trees, are text messages. At the base of the mountain, a Word document. 

This was a record-scratch moment for me. The Vision Pro can transport the user pretty much anywhere, and the user can throw up screens and apps just about anywhere. The user can control whether they are in augmented reality, with the Vision Pro overlaying screens on real life, or an immersive experience, which “transports” the user literally anywhere. What’s stopping me from creating a gorgeous (virtual) office, and having my employees join me from their respective homes, while working “together” in our virtual office? Up to now, “virtual” office means you’re at your computer, connected via Zoom, email, etc. 

But I see the “virtual office” of the future, thanks to Vision Pro, being a little bit more literal than that. I predict an industry of virtual interior designers and virtual architects will form. They will create virtual spaces like offices, stores, or entire shopping malls— the sky is the limit. “Online shopping” will not be just browsing a website from your couch, but literally browsing the isles of your favorite stores from your couch. As long as my clients can connect to me via a Vision Pro, they can join me in my virtual office and have as close as possible to a real-life, face-to-face meeting with me. 

And it will be a lot nicer than meeting with me via a Zoom call. Even the most expensive webcam can’t offer a completely three-dimensional immersive experience. My virtual office would completely designed by me, so I could customize it in any way I’d like. Fish tank with a huge shark in the corner? No problem. Van Gogh on the wall? Sure. Oak paneling, and furniture from Restoration Hardware? Done. Even the secretary has a corner office (with a gorgeous view, of course).

The thing is, I’d think it’s probably close to impossible to transition an existing brick-and-mortar office into an immersive virtual office facilitated by the Vision Pro. I think it would be best for such an experimental venture to be built from the bottom up as a completely virtual firm. Since we’re the next generation of attorneys up to bat, we will all be faced with the decision: embrace this new and different technology, or resist it. If you’re tempted to resist, do yourself a favor and just book a demonstration of the Vision Pro at your local Apple Store. You will change your mind.