I'm going with Apple Vision Pro, though technically maybe it should only count for 2024. Maybe I'll expand to say "the real beginning of consumer mixed reality"

I'm going with Apple Vision Pro, though technically maybe it should only count for 2024. Maybe I'll expand to say "the real beginning of consumer mixed reality", so I can kind of count the Quest 3 that launched a few weeks ago. I was an early backer of the Oculus (backer ~200, if I remember correctly) and have been a big fan of VR since then. But it's had its challenges, and while it's a fun escape, for me it hasn't been ready for prime time and has been relegated to occasional workout Beat Sabers. But I thought Apple nailed it with their AVP approach. Targeting MR _first_, with eye tracking and the pinch interaction seems like a smart approach to begin this new visual medium and UX. I think MR will be here to stay, as the tech miniaturizes and matures, and that the AVP will be looked back on as the Apple II of this tech universe. In the same way that my grandparents have sort of been left out of the "information economy" and the move to everything online - booking hotels and flights, interacting with customer support, banking, shopping, etc - I think people who don't have a MR headset will eventually be left out of the "ambient information economy". Stores will have prices virtually displayed over their goods, people will have profiles associated with them that you just see when you interact, etc. I think a lot of people will see this as a dystopia, but my prediction is it will be coming. And I'm excited for it. Being able to "zoom in" at will, put screens and panels wherever I need them, redecorate my house, add hovering timers of my stove, have real-world ad-blocking, etc. I'm pretty excited about being able to film my kids growing up with a spatial video camera (say, the iPhone 15 Pro), and then watch them in an AVP. I expect it will be a qualitative jump up in remembering and reminiscing, like going from paintings to black-and-white photographs, to color photos, to videos. Right now, the quality probably won't be great, but it's akin to watching those grainy '80s home video VHS clips you see from time to time.