The Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset has encountered a range of challenges since its introduction. Although the engineering is great, the $3,499 pricing and some early adopter problems appear to have taken some of the shine off a product that Apple CEO Tim Cook describes as “the start of a new computing age”.
Apple Vision Pro (Image credit: Apple)
There was hardly any discussion of the headset in Apple’s most recent earnings conference. During the conference, we received data on income, a massive amount of jargon about AI and machine learning, and sales of the iPad, Macbook, and iPhone. There was one tiny bit of information during CEO Tim Cook’s beginning remarks. Cook said, “In fact, the majority of the Fortune 100 has already purchased Apple Vision Pro devices, and they are experimenting with new and intriguing applications that were previously unimaginable”.
That some of the world’s best-performing companies bought one of the new headsets surprises no one, as “many of the world’s top companies are tech or tech-adjacent, and given that they probably felt they needed to see what Apple’s newest gadget was all about”. After all, as the highest performer in the technology category from the 2023 list {Apple, being one of the top-performing technology firms of 2023, any major release in a new market would seem was probably a good bet: “It’s a revolutionary spatial computer that seamlessly mixes digital content with the physical environment, allowing individuals to be in the present moment and connected to others”.
It is possible that some companies bought a few for testing, but in general, things are not very good with the sale of Vision Pro. Recent articles say that Apple has reduced the volume of production twice already before making the release of a headset outside of the United States, which means that the demand was much lower than expected in the United States. Considering the price, it is not clear how many people will buy it, but as for reviews, so far, not everything is so good with Vision Pro. People wrote and spoke about the general massiveness and weightiness of the gadget, in addition to the dissonance of its use and the feeling of loneliness.
While any "revolutionary" new product release is bound to encounter some teething problems, Apple's apparent reticence to share sales revenue for the Vision Pro is telling. So far, sales of the VR/AR headset do not appear to have been a home run, even though some companies purchased a few units; nevertheless, time will tell if this is a slow early adoption issue or the new USB "Hockey Puck Mouse" of hated Apple devices.