I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when Apple invited me to try out the Vision Pro a couple of days back. As I’ve never tried on the mixed-reality headset at launch, the invitation to preview The Weeknd’s latest music video, Open Hearts, through Apple’s cutting-edge (read Kenny’s review here) tech was too good to pass up. A chance to get up close with Abel Tesfaye, all while testing some futuristic hardware? Naturally, I said yes.

The experience began at the Apple Store in Orchard Road. After checking in, a member of the Apple customer service team scanned my eyes to the Vision Pro headset as part of the setup. Next came the quick tutorial. The headset’s cameras can detect the smallest movements of my eyes, and using them as a “mouse”, I could simply gaze at something and then with a pinch of my thumb and forefinger it will be selected. No amount of explanations here can truly describe the tech magic that Apple has crafted here; you really have to try it out for yourself to be amazed.

Anyhow, once I got the basics down, it was time for the main event. I selected – or rather, looked at – the icon for The Weeknd’s Open Hearts, and before I knew it, I was transported into an ambulance. Abel lay strapped to a gurney, recovering from what seemed to be a nasty car crash. The level of detail was startling; you could see every bead of sweat, every scratch on his face. In true VR fashion, everything felt a little more intense, almost hyper-real—as though I was right there alongside him in the aftermath. The Vision Pro’s amazing high-resolution screen is on full showing here.

Visually, the video seems to pick up where The Weeknd’s previous single, Dancing in the Flames, left off. Both were directed by Anton Tammi, and both have that frenetic, dreamlike quality that’s becoming a trademark of The Weeknd’s recent work. In Open Hearts, we don’t stay in the ambulance for long. As Abel comes to, a herd of horses surges past, setting off an improbable car chase that somehow feels completely plausible in this VR dreamscape. And just as I thought we were heading to a hospital, the scene switched – now we were above the Los Angeles skyline, gliding between buildings, suspended in the night sky (it’s a very trippy heart-in-your-mouth experience, especially if you have a fear of heights).

The transitions were seamless, and there was a real sense of freedom in how I could turn my head and catch different perspectives. One moment, a shadowy version of The Weeknd was performing on stage, the next, the bright flashes of a camera morphed into stars as we drifted into space. All the while, The Weeknd sang about heartbreak, loneliness, and the struggle of letting someone in after getting hurt. And if there was some deeper meaning connecting all these scenes, I must admit it was lost on me – I was too swept up in the visual experience to make sense of it all. Honestly, it was like stepping into one of The Weeknd’s more surreal lyrics.

Now I’ve dabbled in VR before, mostly with gaming headsets that were fun but often clunky and uncomfortable. The Vision Pro, though, felt like it was meant to disappear; the tech itself was no longer the centrepiece, leaving only the experience. Watching a music video in 180-degree virtual reality was far more engaging than I could’ve anticipated. And it wasn’t just Open Hearts. As part of the Vision Pro demo, Apple showcased other scenarios including viewing photos (photos taken in panorama look utterly immersive here) and videos recorded in spatial mode. As Kenny noted in his review, the experience is incredible.

It’s hard to say whether it’s the music, the incredible visual production, or simply Apple’s tech, but something about Open Hearts felt genuinely groundbreaking on the Vision Pro – like music videos, too, are evolving into something more intimate, more immersive.

To watch the video (if you do not already own a Vision Pro), you can book a Vision Pro demo at any of the Apple Stores (click here). It’s a great chance to experience the Vision Pro for 30 minutes.

Aaron Yip /
Freelance Gaming & Lifestyle Editor

An industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience. When not spending time on his gaming PC and consoles, he can be found in Hyrule solving ungodly puzzles and collecting gems.