--- title: "Embracing XR and VR horizons after Apple's headset launch" description: "Apple's headset launch and what VR and AR working together could mean for diversity, equity and inclusion training, accessibility and perspective-taking." canonical: https://peopletechrevolution.com/news/embracing-xr-horizons --- [News](https://peopletechrevolution.com/news) · March 2024 # Embracing XR and VR horizons after Apple's headset launch VR, AR, [XR](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/xr/what-is-xr): immersive, increasingly accessible, and moving fast. Apple's augmented reality headset pushed the industry into new territory, and raised a real question: could it set a new standard for VR and AR working together in DEI training? ## A genuine tool for perspective-shifting Used well, XR lets people experience life unlike their own, a genuine tool for perspective-shifting. Work built with XR in the coming months and years will influence how the technology develops. VR is a strong medium for training scenarios in diversity, equity and inclusion, offering different perspectives compared to traditional 2D methods or in-person workshops. Apple entering the VR space puts Meta's long-held lead under real pressure. ### What the launch pointed to Apple's design philosophies and accessibility initiatives set a promising standard for future virtual reality applications. Hand and eye tracking. In other XR headsets, eye and hand tracking were new and often finicky; done well, they open up more ways to interact. AR cross-fading. A blend between the real room and the digital layer over it, rather than a hard cut between the two. Custom lenses and comfort. Custom prescription lenses and spatial audio were built in from the start, a real step for accessibility. ## A real step for accessibility As Karen Haslam, editor of Macworld, wrote at the time, users would experience a three-dimensional interface they control with their eyes, hands and voice, a step for accessibility. Built from a person's own appearance and reflecting face and hand movements in real time, the feature offered a base for open, immersive learning spaces in any environment. As one journalist put it: "Apple seldom invents something unprecedented. Instead, it takes existing ideas and refines them in critical ways that make them more appealing to consumers" (Leswing, 2023). ## Where PTR is looking next DEI programs, especially within technology and professional industries, have faced real limitations, and not for lack of training methods. PTR is considering how advances in virtual and extended reality can support future DEI scenarios. See how PTR approaches this convergence of VR and AR in the [augmented reality overview](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/augmented-reality), or read the independent research behind DEI training on the [research and evidence page](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/research-evidence). ## Update, August 2026 This article was first published in March 2024, shortly after Apple's headset launched. Explore current VR and AR convergence in the [XR overview](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr) and [mixed reality overview](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/mixed-reality). The [PTR VR Library](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/ptr-vr-library) remains the practical form PTR's DEI training takes. Want to know what a new headset generation means for your own build? [Open the contact form](https://peopletechrevolution.com/news/embracing-xr-horizons#contact) Ask our CEO Simon Lowe’s Digital Twin a question ## Related PTR work Where this convergence of VR and AR lives on the current site. [Augmented reality. How PTR builds AR that overlays the real room rather than replacing it.](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/augmented-reality)[Mixed reality. Where VR and AR meet today in PTR's own work.](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/mixed-reality)[The PTR VR Library. The practical form PTR's DEI training takes.](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/ptr-vr-library)[Research and evidence. The independent research behind PTR's DEI training.](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/research-evidence)[Collaborate remotely with VR. How the same devices change distributed teams.](https://peopletechrevolution.com/news/collaborate-remotely-with-vr)[How AI and VR are colliding. Where AI meets the same headsets described here.](https://peopletechrevolution.com/news/how-ai-and-vr-are-colliding) ## Sources Macworld and CNBC coverage of Apple Vision Pro and its approach to VR. ### Apple Vision Pro: Everything you need to know Macworld · 9 January 2024 Haslam, K. (2024). A running account of Apple Vision Pro's features at launch. [Read the article](https://www.macworld.com/article/557878/apple-vision-pro-release-date-headset-specs-price.html) ### Why Apple's VR headset could succeed where every similar product has failed CNBC · 1 June 2023 Leswing, K. (2023). On Apple's approach to refining existing ideas rather than inventing new ones. [Read the article](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/01/why-apples-headset-could-become-the-first-vr-success-story.html)