Cast your mind back to June, and you'll remember that the Apple Vision Pro was unveiled in a blaze of publicity and hype at Apple's WWDC event – and seven months on, it seems that the mixed reality headset is finally going to go on sale.
According to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg (one of the more reliable Apple tipsters), a full launch is now "imminent", and stock is now apparently on its way to warehouses, and from there will be sent to Apple Stores.
Gurman goes on to say that the headset is likely to be available to buy in February, and that Apple may well make some kind of announcement to that effect this week – in part to draw attention away from all the news coming out of CES 2024.
Selected representatives from Apple Stores are being given training on how to demonstrate and sell the Vision Pro, according to Gurman, with training meetings for all retail staff planned for January 21.
Store sales and spatial video
While Apple has told us a lot about the Vision Pro, there are also still plenty of questions surrounding it – not least how Apple will set pricing internationally. We know in the US the device will start at $3,499, which is about £2,755 / AU$5,225 with a straight conversion.
Since June, we've seen leaks of the software interface that we can expect, as well as hints at how the expensive gadget could be set up in stores. It's possible that buyers will have to pick up the headset in a physical store, even if they order online, so that it can be correctly fitted (and so users can get some basic training for how to operate it).
In December, TechRadar was one of the publications invited to take a look at how spatial video works in the Apple Vision Pro. Support for the 3D video format, which you can capture if you have an iPhone 15 Pro or an iPhone 15 Pro Max, could be one of the biggest selling points of the mixed reality headset.
We're very much looking forward to getting our hands on (and our heads into) the Apple Vision Pro, so stay tuned for our full review. This is a major new product category for Apple – although a second headset is apparently already on the way.
