After months of anticipation, it’s official. The Apple Vision Pro will go on sale on February 2, 2024, with preorders available much earlier at 5 a.m. PT / 8 a.m. ET on January 19, 2024.
You may want to act quickly if you want the headset, as preorders are already shipping months after launch – and we recommend that you do not purchase one of the preorders being offered on eBay for absurdly expensive markups.
If you missed the initial wave, do not worry. You have time to read our Apple Vision Pro review roundup to determine whether or not the headset is a good investment.
We’ve already spent a lot of time with the Apple Vision Pro, and it’s an incredible piece of technology. In our hands-on Apple Vision Pro review, we praised the headset’s unique design, M2 chipset, and remarkable functionality; more recently, we were blown away by the immersive experience afforded by viewing our own spatial footage on Vision Pro. However, it will cost an arm and a leg, starting at $3,499 (about £2,800 / AU$5,300), which is far more expensive than Meta’s latest XR headset, the Meta Quest 3.
However, the Vision Pro is not just any old headset; it is a next-generation device for Apple fans, as demonstrated by the iPhone 15 Pro’s capacity to record spatial video for the headset. Meanwhile, the USB-C AirPods Pro 2 will provide lossless audio on the headset. The Vision Pro will also open up new ways to use the greatest MacBooks and Macs, and we expect additional synergy between the headset and Apple products when it comes.
Latest News About Apple Vision Pro
The most recent Apple Vision Pro news is that the headset now has a release date (February 2 in the United States) and a new advertisement that compares it to pop culture’s most iconic goggles. There is no news on when it will be launched in the rest of the world, although reports claim it could arrive before WWDC 2024, which is expected to take place in early June.
Furthermore, Apple has now announced which apps will be included with the Vision Pro, such as Microsoft 365, Disney Plus, Slack, and Apple Arcade.
We also had the opportunity to have a more in-depth hands-on demo with the headset. While some customers have claimed that the Vision Pro is “too heavy,” we discovered that the Dual Loop Band addresses the most of our concerns.
Finally, sources indicate that Apple has already sold 200,000 Vision Pros in just 10 days.
Meta debuted the Meta Quest 3 at the end of 2023, and while the two headsets have some important differences, they will be compared extensively because they serve as mixed reality and virtual reality headsets. We enjoy the Meta Quest 3, giving it five stars in our Meta Quest 3 review, since it delivers outstanding results at a reasonable price. The Vision Pro will have to establish that it is not just more stunning, but also exceptional enough to justify a seven-fold price increase.
Apple Vision Pro: All You Should Know
- Vision Pro’s release date is February 2, 2024.
- The Vision Pro headset starts at $3,499 (about £2,800 / AU$5,300).
- Apple’s Vision Pro headset has two chipsets: an M2 and a new R1 to handle standard software and XR capabilities, respectively. It also features dual 4K monitors.
- The Vision Pro headset design is similar to other VR headsets, having a front panel that covers your eyes and an elastic strap. One difference from the standard is that it has an exterior display that shows the wearer’s eyes.
- The Vision Pro headset has a battery life of up to two hours when fully charged with the original external battery pack.
- Controllers for the Vision Pro headset are not required; instead, you will control the visionOS software using your eyes, hands, and voice.
Apple Vision Pro: Price And Release Date
Apple says the Vision Pro starts at $3,499 (about £2,800 / AU$5,300). If you want to get Zeiss Optical Inserts, which are essential for glasses wearers, you’ll need to pay $99 for reading lenses and $149 for prescription lenses.
This base price gets you 256GB of storage. If you want more, Apple has produced a 512GB variant for $3,699 and a 1TB model for $3,899. Aside from the additional capacity, there appear to be no other differences between the three types.
On January 19, 2024, preorders for Apple Vision Pro went live at 5 a.m. PT / 8 a.m. ET. So, if there are any improved models, we should know what they are.
If you want to purchase the headset, you may need to act quickly. Rumors say that Apple will produce less than 400,000 Vision Pros – possibly as low as 150,000 in total – with even fewer expected to be available for purchase at launch.
Furthermore, Apple is now only making the headset available in the United States, and if you want to demo the device, you must visit one of its actual Apple Stores.
Design Of Apple Vision Pro
The Apple Vision has many similarities with the current crop of finest VR headsets. It has a big face panel that hides your eyes and attaches to your head with an elasticated fabric, plastic, and padding strap.
But instead of focusing on the similarities, let’s look at the Vision Pro’s distinct design aspects.
The most noticeable difference for VR veterans is that the Vision Pro lacks a battery and instead relies on an external battery pack. This is an upgrade of the HTC Vive XR Elite’s design, allowing the headset to transition from a headset with a battery in its strap to a battery-free pair of spectacles that requires external power.
According to Apple, this battery pack can last about two hours on a full charge and is small enough to put in the wearer’s pocket. It’ll connect to the headset via a cable, which is a little unseemly by Apple’s design standards, but what this option lacks in appearance, it should make up for in comfort.
We found the Meta Quest Pro to be really comfortable, although wearing it for long periods of time will strain your neck – just ask our writer, who wore the Quest Pro for work for a week.
If you purchase a Vision Pro, you will discover that your box lacks something required by other VR headsets, at least at launch: controllers. That’s because the Vision Pro uses hand and eye gestures, as well as voice commands, to manage its apps and experiences. It will detect these inputs via a network of 12 cameras, five sensors, and six microphones.
However, a recent patent application shows that this may not always be the case: future generations of the Vision Pro appear to be compatible with finger peripherals resembling thimbles. Specifically, these fingertip controllers would allow you to accurately interact with the headset’s virtual trackpad. It remains to be seen whether this is a hypothetical accessory or an acknowledgment that Apple’s finger tracking technology is insufficient for fine-grained tasks.
The final design feature to highlight is the Vision Pro’s Eyesight display. It appears unusual, perhaps even creepy, but we’ll reserve judgment until we’ve had a chance to try it.
When a Vision Pro wearer uses AR features and can see the real world, nearby others will see their eyes ‘through’ the headset’s front panel (it’s actually a screen showing a camera view of the eyes, but based on Apple’s photos, you may think it’s just a plane of glass). If they are completely absorbed in an event, spectators will see a cloud of color, indicating that they are exploring another universe.
Future improvements have already begun to be discussed, including the appearance of the Vision Pro 2. According to MacRumours, the second-generation device will look quite similar to the first, but with flatter speakers, vent strips instead of holes, and simpler rear straps that mimic backpacks.
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Specs And Features Of Apple Vision Pro
As reports suggested, the Apple Vision Pro headset will have some remarkable specifications to warrant its exorbitant price.
First, the Vision Pro’s experiences will be powered by two chipsets. One is an M2 chip, which is found in the Apple iPad Pro (2022), as well as some of the top MacBooks and Macs.
This fast processor will manage the apps and software you use on the Vision Pro. Meanwhile, the R1 chipset will handle mixed reality, processing the Vision Pro’s immersive features, transforming it from a glorified wearable Mac display to an immersive “spatial computer”.
| Apple Vision Pro | |
|---|---|
| Price | $3499 |
| Pros | |
| – Display is a technical marvel with the best video passthrough yet | |
| – Hand and eye tracking are a leap forward | |
| – Works seamlessly with Apple’s ecosystem | |
| – Fun to put windows all over space | |
| Cons | |
| – Very expensive | |
| – Video passthrough is still video passthrough and can be blurry | |
| – Hand and eye tracking can be inconsistent and frustrating | |
| – Personas are uncanny and somewhat terrifying | |
| – It’s pretty lonely in there | |
| Availability | $3499 AT APPLE |
On top of these chips, the Vision Pro features clear 4K micro-OLED displays, one per eye, with approximately 23 million pixels each. According to Apple, the Vision Pro’s display compresses 64 pixels into the same space as the iPhone’s screen fits one pixel, potentially eliminating the bothersome screen-door effect found in other virtual reality headsets.
This effect occurs when you get close to a screen and see the gaps between the pixels in the array; the higher the pixel density, the closer you can reach before the screen door effect becomes visible.
These components will let you to run a variety of Apple apps via Apple’s new visionOS platform (not xrOS, as previously speculated). This includes interactive images and videos, personalized Disney Plus experiences, and productivity tools such as Keynote.
You’ll be able to play over 100 Apple Arcade games on a virtual screen that feels like your own private movie theater. Disney Plus will be able to stream 3D movies on the wearable screen, and a host of productivity and entertainment apps are slated to debut on the Apple headgear.
Your Vision Pro headset will be able to connect to a Mac using Bluetooth. When you use this function, you will be able to access your Mac apps and see your screen on a huge immersive display, alongside any other Vision Pro apps you are now using. Apple claims that this configuration will make you more productive than you’ve ever been.
With the M2 chip’s capabilities, Apple’s headgear should be able to run most Mac software natively, including Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, which were just released for M2 tablets. However, Apple has yet to specify whether these and other apps will be available natively on the Vision Pro, or if a Mac would be required to fully utilize the headset’s capabilities. We expect these information to be published closer to the headset’s 2024 release.
Your Questions And Our Answers
We’ve compiled a list of the most popular Vision Pro queries from Google and social media and answered them in a nutshell below.
What is the point of Vision Pro?
According to Apple, the Vision Pro aims to usher in a “new era of spatial computing”. It’s a standalone, wearable computer designed to provide new experiences for viewing TV, working, reliving digital memories, and remotely collaborating with others via apps like FaceTime.
But it is still early days. And there may not yet be a single ‘point’ to the Vision Pro. At launch, it will be capable of providing you with a large, portable monitor for your Apple laptop as well as creating a home cinematic experience in apps such as Disney Plus. However, as with the first Apple Watch, developers and users will be responsible for defining the Vision Pro’s major new use cases.
How much does an Apple Vision Pro cost?
The Apple Vision Pro will cost $3,499 when it is released in the United States “early next year”. It won’t be available in other countries until “later next year,” although the price is equivalent to roughly £2,815 / AU$5,290.
This makes the Vision Pro significantly more expensive than competing headsets. The Meta Quest Pro recently saw a price reduction to $999 / £999 / AU$1,729. Cheaper and less capable VR-only headsets, such as the upcoming Meta Quest 3, are also available for $499, £499, and AU$829. However, there is no direct equivalent to the technologies supplied by the Vision Pro.
Does Apple Vision Pro work with glasses?
The Apple Vision Pro works for folks who wear glasses, but there are certain caveats to be aware of. If you wear glasses, they will not fit with the headset. Instead, you’ll need to purchase separate optical inserts that magnetically attach to the Vision Pro lenses. Apple has yet to announce the pricing for these, merely mentioning that “vision correction accessories are sold separately”.
Apple says it will provide a variety of vision correction strengths that will not degrade display quality or headset eye-tracking capabilities. However, it also states that “not all prescriptions are supported” and that a “valid prescription is required”. So, while the Vision Pro works well for glasses wearers, there are some possible drawbacks.
Is Apple Vision Pro VR or AR?
The Apple Vision Pro provides both VR and AR experiences, albeit Apple does not use those titles to describe them. Instead, Apple claims to create “spatial experiences” that “blend the digital and physical worlds”. You may adjust how much of both you view with the Digital Crown on the side.
Turning the Digital Crown allows you to control how engrossed you are in a specific app. This displays the real world beyond an app’s digital overlays, or extends what Apple refers to as ‘environments’. These extend beyond your physical space, for example, providing you a glimpse of a virtual lake.
While some of Apple’s examples appear to be classic VR, the bulk are augmented reality, which combines your real-world environment (recorded by the Vision Pro’s full-color passthrough system) with digital overlays.
Is Apple Vision Pro see-through?
The front of the Apple Vision Pro is not see-through or completely transparent, despite the fact that a function called EyeSight gives the impression of such. The front of the headgear is composed of laminated glass, but behind the lens is an outward-facing OLED screen.
If you’re using augmented reality, this screen will display a real-time view of your eyes (as captured by the cameras inside the headset) to the outside world. If you’re having a completely immersive, VR-like experience, such as viewing a movie, this screen will display a Siri-like graphic.
The Apple Vision Pro headset includes a passthrough technology that uses cameras on the exterior of the goggles to provide you with a real-time, color feed of your surroundings. So, while the headset appears transparent, your vision of the real world is computerized.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Apple’s Vision Pro has the potential to transform how we experience augmented reality, demonstrating Apple’s steadfast dedication to cutting-edge innovation. The buzz surrounding this device is considerable. The promise of a game-changing device has computer fans excitedly anticipating its arrival. Apple’s careful approach to releasing critical elements only heightens consumers’ interest, making them anxious to get their hands on a product that appears to flawlessly combine the digital and physical worlds. As we wait for additional information, the Apple Vision Pro is poised to alter our knowledge of augmented reality, potentially setting new industry standards. The hype surrounding this device highlights Apple’s status as a technological pioneer, and its eventual release is sure to make waves in the tech industry.
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