The fight to control the headset market will intensify
They are the next big tech platform
![A podium of consumer tech with a VR headset in the centre](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20231118_TWBUD004.jpg)
By Tom Wainwright
The most eagerly awaited gadget of 2024 is Apple’s Vision Pro, a sleek headset that can transport users to the middle of a “Star Wars” battlefield, or simply project the world’s biggest Excel spreadsheet into their office. The magic goggles combine virtual reality (vr) with “mixed reality”, using front-mounted cameras to show the user a live video-feed of the outside world, onto which computer graphics can be superimposed. The device is controlled with eye movements and hand gestures. Apple calls it the most ambitious product it has ever made. At $3,499 its price is ambitious, too.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2024 under the headline “Head to head”