The Apple Vision Pro is in the starting blocks
Two particularly accurate Apple experts expect the Vision Pro to go on sale in just a few weeks. For Tim Cook & Co., a lot depends on the success of the data glasses, because otherwise the company does not have a "next big thing" in the pipeline.
When Apple presented the Vision Pro data glasses at its WWDC developer conference last June, it was said that they would be launched on the market in early 2024. The company actually seems to be able to keep to its schedule. This is because two particularly accurate Apple experts are expecting a sales launch by next February at the latest.
iOS update a clear sign
The update to iOS 17.2 on December 12 showed that it can't be long now, as it gave the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max the ability to record 3D videos. The spatial display of the clips is only possible on the Vision Pro, which is why a connection with the imminent release of the data glasses is obvious.
Shortly before Christmas, Mark Gurman fromBloomberg wrote that mass production of the Vision Pro was already in full swing in China. Apple wants to have completed the planned number of units by the end of January so that the glasses can go on sale in February.
Low quantity, high price
According to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple only wants to sell around 500,000 this year. In a Medium article from December 25, the usually well-informed analyst from TF International Securities, like Gurman, assumes that mass production is underway and that sales will start at the end of January, or in February at the latest.
Initially, the Vision Pro will only be available in the USA. However, this alone does not explain the very low number of units by Apple standards. On the one hand, it is obviously technically challenging to produce the Vision Pro in large quantities. Last summer, the Financial Times reported that the main problems were high error rates in the MicroLEDs for the data glasses' screens. Apple had previously wanted to sell 1 million pairs of glasses in the first twelve months after market launch.
At the end of September, Kuo wrote that the question was why anyone would want the product. It could take longer than the market expects for the Vision Pro to become Apple's new "star product". Kuo and other experts see one reason for this in the high price of 3,500 dollars. Apple may also have canceled the cheaper version planned for next year, according to the analyst.
More important than the iPhones this year
As the Vision Pro 2 cannot go into mass production until the first half of 2027 at the earliest, there would be no technical update to the glasses for years, Kuo fears. "Unless Apple significantly lowers the price of Vision Pro, the expected significant growth in Vision Pro shipments from 2025 may not materialize."
He sounds somewhat more optimistic in his latest article on Vision Pro. It will be the most important product for Apple in 2024, he states. If user feedback is "better than expected", this could possibly convince the market "that the Vision Pro is the next star product in consumer electronics".
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The anticipated release of the Vision Pro by Apple in February is heavily dependent on the success of their augmented reality data glasses, as they currently do not have a "next big thing" in the pipeline. With the Vision Pro, users can record 3D videos, but the spatial display of these clips is only possible on the Vision Pro, making a connection between the upcoming release and the iOS 17.2 update apparent.
The recent increase in production rates for the Vision Pro in China, as reported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, and the higher pricing of the device at $3,500 suggest that Apple may be targeting a niche market with its AR glasses, aiming to sell around 500,000 units this year.
Source: www.ntv.de
