Apple’s Ultra Pricey Vision Pro Sets U.S. Launch Date

Apple ‘s ultra high end gadget, the Vision Pro, will be available online and at U.S. Apple Stores starting February 2, the company has announced. The $3,500 virtual reality device was unveiled last year, taking up a large portion of the company’s annual September tubthump for new products and technology.

While sales of VR headsets have generally been sluggish across the industry in recent years, Apple has made the claim that its take is wholly unique. The Vision Pro’s main lens adjusts to lighting and user preference, so it can be worn for longer periods, with the user able to interact with other people, the company maintains.

It is controlled by eyes, hands and voice, via a newly customized operating system. Related Stories News Disney And Apple Shareholders Will Get The Chance To Vote On AI Proposals After SEC Rebuffs Company Efforts To Table The Issue News Jon Hamm To Star In 'Your Friends and Neighbors' Series For Apple From Jonathan Tropper In addition to lean forward activities like videoconferencing, the Vision Pro also features games, movies and series, including titles from Disney+ and Max.

About 250 games will be available at launch from Apple Arcade, including several titles designed for the Vision Pro. The device uses Apple Immersive Video, which presents films and series in 3 D 8K wrapping 180 degrees around the viewer, with Spatial Audio. Pre orders will be taken starting January 19.

The sticker shock of the Vision Pro’s price will be a new test of Apple’s grip on consumers. Sales of the company’s flagship iPhone have faltered in recent months, leading to downgrades of Apple stock by a few Wall Street analysts. Some skeptics have pointed to a Big Tech rival, Meta Platforms, which has pivoted toward virtual reality and even renamed itself from Facebook without much initial success.

The counter argument has been that Apple is in a unique position to entice more people to engage with VR, and that the $3,500 price point will come down as demand rises, making it more feasible for the Vision Pro to gain wider adoption. Apple even eschews the term virtual reality, referring instead to the concept of “spatial computing.”.