Why Do We Need Virtual Reality?

Hey everyone, it’s Cosmo.

I just got back from visiting a friend in Hawaii, and it raised an interesting question for me: what's the point of VR?

Immersed in the island’s epic beauty—hiking through lush mountains, swimming in crystal-clear waters, and basking in the sun—I welcomed the break from my usual routine of sitting indoors, typing away on my laptop.

Experiencing fully embodied moments in nature made me question the purpose of virtual reality. Why do we need it?

Is it for learning, entertainment, connection, and fun? Or is it a tool designed to distract us from modern life's woes, extracting our attention for profit? The truth probably sits somewhere in the middle.

I get it: VR allows us to virtually visit places around the world we might never see otherwise. Apple Immersive Video, one of my favorite Vision Pro features, is genuinely incredible.

Spatial Personas let us teleport friends into our space as if they’re actually there—a revolutionary experience.

Yet, basking in the spiritual energy and multi-sensory grandeur of Hawaii reaffirmed that even the best VR can't compete with real life—at least not yet. 

Reality remains undefeated.

Through VRLA & Mindshow, I helped push VR toward mainstream adoption (though it still has plenty of room to grow). Around 2018, during the notorious trough of disillusionment, my enthusiasm waned. I stepped back from VR for a few years, returning only with the arrival of Apple Vision Pro.

Over the past decade, I’ve watched headset fidelity, power, and accessibility steadily improve. AVP represents the pinnacle of this progress — it’s arguably the most advanced consumer technology ever made available.

VR, AR, and MR are undeniably wonderful, exciting, and fun. Apple's virtual environments can genuinely make you feel transported elsewhere. But being on an actual beach still wins, hands down.

Of course, not everyone wants or can afford travel to beautiful destinations. Spatial Personas highlight how bizarre it is that air travel remains our most advanced mode of transportation in 2025—expensive, exhausting, and often unpleasant. Why go through all that when you can slip on a headset and get a taste of paradise?

But while visual fidelity has dramatically improved, will we ever replicate the feeling of sand between our toes or the refreshing splash of ocean water? That's both a technological and philosophical question.

VR and immersive technology aren't going anywhere. They'll only get better. So perhaps the real question is this: how can we leverage these advancements to make our physical bodies and the real world as vibrant as the virtual worlds we create?

Thank you for reading. Till next week! 😊

Blessings,
Cosmo

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