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, the mixed reality headset finally has an official on-sale date.
What's it like to use the Apple Vision Pro? We've been lucky enough to try it a few times and you can read about out experiences here:
Seeing your own spatial video on Vision Pro is an immersive trip – and I highly recommend it
Hands on: Apple Vision Pro: I just wore the future
Apple has just announced that the Vision Pro will start shipping in the US on February 2, with pre-orders starting on Friday, January 19 at 5am PST. Apple says the headset will be available to buy both at the online Apple Store and at all US Apple Store locations.
Got a spare $3,499 (which converts to around £2,755 / AU$5,225)? That's how much the mixed-reality headset will set you back, at a minimum. If you're a glasses-wearer, you'll also likely need Zeiss Optical Inserts, which will cost an extra $99 (for the reading lenses) and $149 for full prescription lenses.
The announcement followed rumors from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman on January 7 that the full launch was "imminent" and that stock was on its way to warehouses, going from there to Apple Stores. The timing of the news follows an Apple tradition of taking the limelight away from CES 2024, the world's biggest tech trade show.
Selected representatives from Apple Stores are apparently 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 you order online, so that it can be correctly fitted (and so users can get some basic training for how to operate it). Apple's announcement doesn't yet clarify whether or not this is the case.
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.
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