Apple CEO Tim Cook gets thrown under the bus over Vision Pro demo failure

Following Apple's announcement of the Vision Pro on Monday, the internet, or at least a portion of it, has unsurprisingly begun making fun of the strange animated eyeballs, turning them into a meme.

The bold decision by Apple to animate the eyeballs of the Vision Pro user and place them on an outwards-facing display in an attempt to make conversation with the outside world more comfortable has been laughed at by many users online. Some Apple fans have even gone as far as to say that company executives aren't happy with the design choice, with Bloomberg correspondent Mark Gurman simply asking why Apple CEO Tim Cook has never been seen using the Vision Pro.

Gurman asked why there aren't even any photographs of Cook using the 1st generation product, or any other Apple executives. During the presentation, the company only showcased models using the Vision Pro. According to Gurman, if it is true that Cook hasn't been spotted using Vision Pro, then that was an intentional decision by Apple for a currently unknown reason.

A similar sentiment was uttered by CNBC contributor Alex Kantrowitz, who took to Twitter to write, "Still can't believe Tim Cook did not wear the Vision Pro yesterday. What does it say about a device when a CEO refuses to use it on launch day?"

Long-time fans of Apple began comparing the performance of legendary Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to current Apple CEO Tim Cook, saying that Jobs famously loved to conduct live demos of the company's product unveilings. Gurman took to Twitter and wrote that there was no other reason than "meme control" for Cook to be standing next to the Vision Pro, as the product is arguably, if not the most significant product of his entire tenure at Apple.

While the reason may not be entirely Apple's strange animated eyes on the Vision Pro, but a combination of the eyes and the backlash the internet gave former Facebook and current Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg when he demoed the company's VR project in front of a room full of other people wearing VR. The disaster of that unveiling could have caused Apple to play this announcement safe and separate Apple's product and executives from the past stigma surrounding virtual reality.

• Read more: Everything you need to know about Apple's $3,499 Vision Pro AR/VR headset

The effort would be in hopes of not getting caught up in the online meme culture that has drastically affected the general opinion of a product, and, thus, its overall success.

In other news, a man is suing OpenAI, the developers of ChatGPT, over the AI-powered chatbot producing content that has allegedly caused reputational damages. If you are interested in reading more about this story, check out the link below.

• Read more: Man sues OpenAI over ChatGPT falsely telling a journalist he's embezzling non-profit money