Pre-orders of Apple’s Vision Pro are supposed to ship out on February 2; however several reports have appeared online claiming there’s going to be a sizable delay.
People have flocked to Reddit and X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) with screenshots of their orders now having an arrival period of February 29 to March 7. That week is commonly seen among the buyers experiencing the delay, but it’s not uniform across the board with others claiming different dates. A user on X says their unit has been pushed back to February 15 while another on Reddit says Apple’s “phone system” told them the headset won’t ship out until March 14.
Apple Vision Pro delayed Feb 2 -> Feb 29th - Mar 7th. Received a text this morning about an “update” to my order. Did anyone else in the #NeckStrong gang receive one as well? pic.twitter.com/UecFLV795JJanuary 25, 2024
It’s also been reported that Apple is contacting people about the shipping date pushback. A comment on the Vision Pro subreddit states they received a text from the company informing them of the shipping delay.
The setback seems to be primarily happening to two configurations of the headset: the 256GB and 1TB storage models. There hasn't been any news or screenshots showing that the 512GB Vision Pro is seeing similar delays; although we wouldn’t be surprised if it too was getting pushed back. It’s hard to say for sure as there is a lot of chaos surrounding this situation. People are understandably frustrated, plus Apple has yet to make a public statement about the new shipping dates.
To be fair, the dates are estimated delivery times. It’s entirely possible the headsets will arrive on time or the delay won’t be as extreme. In a worst-case scenario, early adopters may have to wait until the dust settles to get their hands on the headset. Or they can go onto eBay and deal with the many, many Vision Pro scalpers.
Prioritizing stores
It’s unknown exactly what is causing the delay. A prevailing theory being thrown around in online circles is Apple’s recent decision to stock more in-store inventory in preparation for the big day. It argues that the tech giant is choosing to prioritize in-store purchases resulting in a limited amount of headsets for pre-orders. Commenters have said their in-store pickup orders of the Vision Pro are completely fine. They can go to an Apple Store and grab their device without issue.
That could be one reason, but again, nothing can be said with total confidence due to all the conflicting information.
So, we reached out to Apple asking if they could provide any details regarding the Vision Pro delay. Will people receive their orders on time or will they have to wait over a month? This story will be updated if we hear back.
For those planning to pick up a Vision Pro on day one with a pre-order, good luck. Industry insider Mark Gurman says some stores "are anticipating little to no day one availability for non-pre orders", according to his sources.
There are plenty of great headsets out there if you can't get your hands on Apple's latest tech. Check out TechRadar's list of the best VR headsets for 2024 if you want recommendations.
