For anyone looking to try the Apple Vision Pro when it officially launches on February 2, there will be quite a procedure. We knew it, but now a report on Mark Gurman latest Switched on Newsletter for Bloomberg sheds light on how Vision Pro's in-store demos will work.
According to Gurman, the process will begin with an Apple Store employee scanning users' faces to select the light seal on Apple's headphones, a process he likens to setting up Face ID. For those who need vision correction, Apple will also scan your lenses with a special device to determine the prescription. An employee then places a Vision Pro with one of the “hundreds” of available lenses and a seal and tells you how to use the device (including, apparently, how to hold it).
The demonstration that follows, Gurman says, will last up to 25 minutes. It will reportedly involve viewing photos and videos (including the “spacey” 3D kind you can take with the iPhone 15 Pro), using the Vision Pro as a replacement for a computer or iPad, and trying out third-party apps.
The process is long, although it will not be necessary to make the purchase. Apparently, Apple will also sell the headphones online. Users will still need to scan their faces with an iPhone or iPad to get the proper head strap, and they'll need to have their vision prescription ready for the $149 optical inserts.
Gurman writes that Apple has also created a second, more comfortable strap for the headphones after complaints that it is uncomfortable after just 30 minutes of use, although he says this strap will not be present in the demos. Additionally, Belkin will have an accessory clip for the battery that is located outside of Apple's headphones, according to the article.
Apple reportedly doesn't expect demand for the Vision Pro to hold up and has told its stores that they will need “about twice as much inventory space” during the first weekend as those that follow. A recent supply chain rumor said Apple will only have up to 80,000 of them at launch, plus just half a million for all of 2024.
Such low numbers may not ask the Vision Pro any more favors than the basic problem of getting people to want an AR/VR headset in the first place. People are already less likely to wear one in a coffee shop. But even if you saw someone doing it, asking a stranger if you can check out their $3,500 main computer is a lot different than asking them if you can play with their iPhone: They don't want to leave you, and you probably don't either. I want anyway. And most people won't buy one of these without trying it first.
But Apple has plans for its Vision line of headphones. Rumors say it means releasing a second, cheaper version of the headphones. And eventually, the company is expected to make a set of AR glasses that look like regular glasses, at least eventually, when it overcomes the technical hurdles. Meanwhile, Meta has aggressively pursued AR glasses with its Ray-Bans partnership, and is exactly resting on its laurels.
