In the latest edition of Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, he writes that Apple had at one time planned for the Apple Vision Pro headset to be released in January 2024. However, the company is still preparing distribution plans for the product and doing final device testing.
For its part, Apple has officially said the Vision Pro will go on sale early next year in the United States. Gurman says he now expects that the device will debut “sometime around March”.
Apple Vision Pro will launch first in the United States, with availability in additional international countries following later in 2024. Apple is expected to sell the device by appointment only in Apple retail stores, or on the web through the Apple online store.
It will not be available in third-party retailers, as Apple wants to carefully curate the rollout experience for its brand new wearable platform. Retail stores will also need to keep stock of hundreds of different SKUs, such as different sizes of headbands and prescription lenses.
Regarding the release timing, it certainly seems that the software teams were aiming to be ready for a January debut, as Gurman suggests. The latest visionOS beta includes product onboarding videos and materials; these kind of assets are generally prepared near the end of the software development cycle. The current iOS 17.2 beta also includes Vision Pro companion features like AirPlay Receiver and the ability to take spatial videos on iPhone 15 Pro models.
With a March launch on tap, just like the rollout of the Apple Watch, expect Apple to hold another media event in the spring ahead of the product’s release. This will give Apple another opportunity to present the $3499+ headset to customers and show off some apps and features that were not quite ready for demonstration at the June WWDC unveiling.
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