Framing Space: Rhetorical Constructions of Digital Elitism in Apple’s Vision Pro Marketing

This paper analyzes Apple’s Vision Pro promotional video to show how rhetoric shapes the way audiencesunderstand technology and space. Using spatial theory—particularly Henri Lefebvre’s framework for the production ofspace and Edward Soja’s concept of “third space”—the study offers a rhetorical case analysis of Apple’s introduction of“spatial computing.” The analysis demonstrates how Apple crafts compelling spatial narratives that blur distinctionsbetween physical and digital environments, work and leisure, and private and public life. Four major themes emerge: theconstruction of place and identity through exclusive, idealized environments; the crossing of boundaries between materialand virtual spaces; the concealment of power and control through language of user choice and agency; and the culturalproduction of space that reinforces neoliberal norms of productivity. Together, these findings show how Apple’s spatialrhetoric simplifies complex spatial relationships, privileges a digitally elite user, and reframes personal environments ascommodified spaces