Apple’s foray into the mixed-reality eyewear space is nearly a reality.
Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company remains on target to release the new Apple Vision Pro sometime in 2024. No official release date has been set, though. And there have been reports of delays in production due, in part, to complex design issues.
However, in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning in September and again in a recent earnings call, Cook has remained steadfast in the assertion that the Vision Pro will be available in the coming year.
Apple plans to slow release the product, initially limiting its availability to Apple Stores in the U.S. Customers purportedly will be required to make an appointment to try on and pick up the Vision Pro.
“There’s never been a product like the Vision Pro. And so we’re purposely bringing it out in our stores only, so we can really put a great deal of attention on the last mile of it,” Cook said during a recent quarterly earnings conference call. “We’ll be offering demos in the stores, and it will be a very different process than the normal grab-and-go kind of process.”
“There’s never been a product like the Vision Pro.”
A Familiar Playbook
The approach is similar to the early days of the smartwatch. Though sales of Apple watches didn’t take off until they were available in other national retailers, such as Best Buy and Target.
The difference is that there already was a centuries old market for watches when Apple introduced its smartwatch. The AR/VR space remains in its infancy. And with a price tag set at $3,500, the Vision Pro, at least this version, isn’t meant for everyone. As such, Apple is planning to sell only 130,000 to 150,000 headsets in the first 12 months.
That hasn’t entirely damped interest in the new headset. From most accounts, the Vision Pro packs an impressive pixilated punch. And anything new from Apple is going to generate buzz.
Who Wants One?
Research conducted shortly after the Vision Pro was announced in June 2023 showed that consumers in California, Washington and New York were among the most interested in the headset. Data experts at Casinoarabi.io analyzed search engine terms related to the Vision Pro, such as “Apple Vision Pro” and “Apple Vision Pro release date” to draw their conclusions.
California residents led the nation, searching for terms related to the Vision Pro at a rate of 1,636 per 100,000 residents. Washington State followed closely behind with a rate of 1,613 Google searches per 100,000 people. Utah (1,508), Massachusetts (1,483) and New York (1,448) rounded out the top 5. Other states in the top 10 were, in order, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Virginia, and Texas.
A spokesperson from Casinoarabi.io spoke on the findings: “The Apple Vision Pro announcement was tentatively received by much of the world as a seemingly dystopian technology becoming ever more realistic. Regardless, it will be fascinating to find out whether such interest will be converted into sales when the Apple Vision Pro is released early next year.”