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Posts tagged "Vision"

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Netflix says the Apple Vision Pro is way too niche for it to make an app for the headset
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Apple describes the Vision Pro as a “spatial computing” device, but right now it's arguably as much a pair of cinema goggles that can play 3D movies. That billing has been undermined by the absence of a few apps from streaming's big players – and Netflix has just explained why it's steering clear of the headset, for now.

In an interview with Stratechery (via The Verge), Netflix's co-CEO Greg Peters revealed why Netflix hasn't made a native app (or even made its iPad app available) for the Vision Pro. In a completely fair yet somehow slightly withering observation, he states that the Vision Pro “is so subscale that it's not particularly relevant to most of our members”.

Peters adds that Netflix has to make sure “that we’re not investing in places that are not really yielding a return”, but that “we’re always in discussions with Apple to try and figure that out”. In other words, Netflix isn't ruling out making an app for the Vision Pro in the future, but only when Apple's headset becomes a lot more mainstream.

That could be some way off. Early estimates suggest the Vision Pro's first weekend sales were around 180,000 units, with demand likely to taper off significantly. When you consider that Netflix now has 260 million subscribers worldwide – helpfully bolstered by the success of its ad-supported tier – you can see why it might be taking a watch-and-wait approach.

Yet Netflix's conservative approach to the Vision Pro also reflects some historically frosty relations with Apple. Netflix hasn't let you sign up to its app through Apple TV for many years to avoid Apple taking a cut of the revenue. And Netflix also still hasn't fully integrated with the TV app on Apple's streaming box, which lets you see content from all of your streaming services in a single carousel.

Whether it'll be a similar story for Netflix on the Apple Vision Pro remains to be seen, but for now, the mixed-reality headset will be missing the world's biggest TV streaming app, alongside Spotify and YouTube. 

A sensible move or a snub?

The Disney app running on the Apple Vision Pro

(Image credit: Apple)

Right now, the Vision Pro is arguably a very expensive developer kit that's also available to buy in limited quantities – so Netflix's stance is completely understandable.

Greg Peters does add that Netflix and Apple are in regular contact, stating that “we’re always in discussions with Apple” and that “we’ll see where things go with Vision Pro”. 

That's far from a closed door – and yet Netflix hasn't even allowed its iPad app to run on Apple's headset. You can watch Netflix on a web browser on the Vision Pro, but that's hardly a premium experience.

Daring Fireball's Jon Gruber even recently suggested that a Netflix iPad app for Vision Pro did exist, but that the streaming giant had a change of heart – and that the decision was made out of “pure corporate spite”, rather than anything technical.

Whatever the reality behind Netflix not even offering its iPad app on the Vision Pro, Apple certainly has its work cut out to convince some of the world's biggest apps to join its $ 3,499 “spatial computing” party. It's rubbing many developers the wrong way with its potential approach to sideloading on the iPhone, and we'll likely need to wait until at least the Vision Pro 2 before it gets close to being mainstream.

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Meta is ‘working on’ its own version of Apple Vision Pro Travel Mode so you can use your Quest 3 on a plane
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Meta might have been a big – perhaps even the biggest – player in the VR world for some time, but newcomer Apple is already giving it ideas for features to add to its Quest headsets, and the first of these could be the ability to use your Quest VR wearable while moving in a car or on a plane.

The reveal trailer for the Apple headset – which is finally set to launch on February 2, with Vision Pro preorders already having gone live (many Apple headsets are already being sold on eBay for extremely high prices) – showed off several use cases for the gadget. One of the examples was a person slipping the headset on while sitting in a plane seat, presumably so they could enjoy an immersive experience while traveling.

Using a VR headset while traveling – especially on a packed plane – sounds like a no-brainer. Rather than having to contend with movies displayed on a small screen on the back of the seat in front of you, you can enjoy them on a massive virtual movie theatre screen and forget that you’re crammed into coach like a sardine.

A woman wearing the Apple Vision Pro while on a plane with other passengers next to them.

(Image credit: Apple)

However, while the idea sounds simple, it’s rather tricky to pull off – as one disappointed Meta Quest 3 user discovered when they struggled to use mixed reality on a flight. On Twitter/X, user @afoxdesign posted a rather amusing clip of their Quest 3 menu floating off into the distance while trying to use the headset on a flight.

In a reply to the post, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth (@boztank) explained that the issue is caused by the plane’s movement throwing off the headset’s IMUs (inertial motion sensors). The sensors are picking up on the plane’s movement and acceleration, so your headset thinks you’re moving about and adjusts the position of virtual objects accordingly.

Encouragingly, Bosworth added that Meta is “Working on it” with regards to making it possible to use Quest headsets while traveling in a vehicle.

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Back in May 2023 Meta showed off a demo where a Meta Quest Pro was being used in a BMW, with the car’s own sensors keeping the headset's IMUs in check. Unfortunately, this solution wouldn’t work for low-tech vehicles or commercial planes, where it might not be the safest idea to give random people direct access to the airplane’s sensors.

Option two, then, may be to introduce a simplified travel mode in which these motion sensors are turned off. Instead, the headset would use scaled-back tracking data and reference points to enable stable versions of static experiences like watching a video or playing a game through the VR Xbox Game Pass app – becoming a headset version of the Xreal Air 2 and similar wearable AR display glasses.

We’ll have to wait and see what Meta comes up with, but with Apple offering a solution to the using-a-headset-while-traveling problem, and Bosworth saying that a solution is being worked on, we’re hopeful that Quest headsets will be usable on a plane or in a car in the not too distant future.

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The Apple Vision Pro arrives in stores next week, but you can ‘see’ the AR headset at home now using… AR
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Not many people have been in the same room as an Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset, let alone touched and worn the thing. But if you're itching to get close before the February 2 launch day, Apple has the next best thing on its Apple Store App.

People often forget that Apple does some of the best AR in the business, including some wicked occlusion capabilities that let virtual objects block the view of real ones that sit or move behind them – and Apple's AR rendering of its Apple Vision Pro is right up there with its best work.

If you're not already familiar with the mixed reality set that everyone is talking about, Apple's Vision Pro is the tech giant's first attempt at an AR/VR-capable headset. Apple calls the entire experience Spatial Computing. I've worn it four times now, and I've experienced movies, interactive AR experiences, incredible panoramic photography, and almost wept through realistic spatial video; and I've done most of it with little more than my gaze and subtle gestures.

It's a wildly expensive product, starting at $ 3,499, but that hasn't dampened interest (it reportedly sold out on pre-order and is a hot item on eBay), so it makes sense for Apple to give us this AR taste.

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Apple Vision Pro in AR

(Image credit: Apple)
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Apple Vision Pro in AR

(Image credit: Apple)
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Apple Vision Pro in AR

(Image credit: Apple)
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Apple Vision Pro in AR

(Image credit: Apple)
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Apple Vision Pro in AR

(Image credit: Apple)
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Apple Vision Pro in AR

(Image credit: Apple)

To find it, you'll need to open the Apple Store App on your best iPhone or best iPad. In it, look for the Vision Pro, select it, and then scroll until you see 'View in your space'. Tap this, and then point your phone's camera at a flat surface like your desk or kitchen table. Keep the phone still for a moment, and after Apple finishes analyzing the 3D contours of the space, a translucent Vision Pro headset will appear. Tap it to drop it onto the table. After that, you can use one finger to move the AR Vision Pro around, and two fingers to rotate it. You can also resize it with two fingers, but then it won't be represented at full scale (it's easy to snap it back to 100%).

You can also move your phone around the rendering to see the headset from all sides, and even get close and peer into the dual, 4K microLED displays, which appear to be showing some sort of landscape. It's an opportunity to get an up-close look at the features, materials like the recycled yarn woven band, the aluminum spatial photography button, and the digital crown.

There's even a MagSafe-style power adapter attached to one side with a woven USB-C cable running off of the Vision Pro, but instead of running to a nearby battery, the cable disappears at the edge of the woven band. There's also no option to depict the Vision Pro with the Dual Loop Band that will also ship with the headset; I think that's a shame, since I bet that's how many people will end up wearing the Vision Pro.

Ultimately, this is a chance to see what the Vision Pro will look like in your real world; however, one thing this AR experience can't do is replicate the feeling of all that money leaving your wallet.

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Hundreds of Apple Vision Pro pre-orders ended up on eBay, and you’ll pay a premium if you want one
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Getting a handle on just how many Vision Pro mixed reality headsets Apple sold in its first weekend isn't easy but finding out if everyone legitimately bought one is even harder.

Estimates put the weekend Vision Pro sales haul at somewhere around 180,000 units, and while Apple hasn't confirmed there are some indications that the Cupertino tech giant sold out of the Spatial Computing launch product. However, a quick perusal of the popular auction site eBay turns up hundreds and hundreds of Vision Pro headsets.

Since Apple has yet to ship its first Vision Pro (pre-orders started on January 19 and it ships on February 2), the majority of eBay auction offers appear to be pre-order placeholders. In one auction listing, the seller wrote (all caps are his):

“THIS IS A PRE-ORDER ARRIVING ON FEB 2ND! I WILL SHIP OUT SAME DAY AS LONG AS IT ARRIVES TO ME BEFORE 4PM.”

Some listings show a marketing image of the Vision Pro while others are simply proof of an existing pre-order. Prices range from under $ 600 to over $ 7,000. The base 256GB model currently lists for $ 3,499.99 (Vision Pro is not shipping outside the US).

While markups on eBay offers are expected, it's hard to imagine anyone paying double for the still-untested mixed-reality headset. More worrisome are the sub-$ 1,000 offers. There's no way a seller will pay Apple's roughly $ 3,500 upfront costs and then take a loss. The low prices are simply a come-on to drive interest and bids.

Apple Vision Pro on eBay

(Image credit: Future)

Why all the excitement and the unsurprising eBay activity? Apple Vision Pro is special. It's Apple's first new product category since 2015's Apple Watch. Apple is trying with this high-end and powerful wearable computer (it has M2 and R1 chips inside) to launch an entirely new Spatial Computing category.

I've had four experiences with Vision Pro and can agree that it's not quite like anything on the market. I'm especially impressed with its gaze and gesture tracking and ability to shift fluidly from full immersion to partial and then finally complete passthrough with realistic augmented reality. It has the potential to change entertainment, communication, gaming, and productivity. It also stands a fair chance of flopping since consumers still don't entirely understand why they should spend thousands of dollars for something they can only use by putting it on their heads.

If you're thinking about bidding on any of these eBay offers understand that off-brand pricing is not your only concern. You can't order Vision Pro without doing a face scan to ensure you get the right light seal. The eBay seller did the scan and there's no guarantee your face sizes and shapes will match (some do list the size of the light seal to help you match your face size).

Moreover, if you wear glasses, you'll need special $ 99-to-$ 149 Zeiss inserts to correct your vision inside the Vision Pro. Otherwise, the systems' two 4K microLED displays will look terrible. Without using Apple's guided ordering system, you won't be set up to receive the right inserts at the same time you receive the headset from the seller.

I contacted Apple about the eBay listings to see if they have any concerns. I can imagine that they're not pleased about it.

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Vision Pro may have an app problem, with developers possibly unwilling to commit to Apple’s ‘revolutionary’ new platform
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When the Apple Vision Pro was first announced, we were told that it would run at least one million apps right out of the box. However, it’s beginning to look like that might not be the case. Now Apple may have effectively alienated and irritated app developers, making them less likely to produce bespoke apps for the headset. Instead, we’re expecting to see ports of existing iPad apps hastily slapped onto the Vision Pro.

The Vision Pro has already been shunned by streaming giants like Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify due to a lack of confidence in the new platform, as well as Spotify’s public distaste for Apple’s “outrageous” 27% commission. According to the BBC, the music streaming service has levied heavy accusations of Apple “stopping at nothing” to protect profits. With all this tension building just before the official launch of the Vision Pro, it’s easy to see why there might be a lack of confidence in the headset.

Other app developers likely share this hesitancy. Many might agree with Spotify’s frustration with Apple’s restrictive App Store policies and fees, especially since the Vision Pro’s success hinges on whether or not it has apps that make it worth buying. Why would you spend $ 3,500 for a device that doesn’t have the particular app you want?

Developers Wrath 

To add to the concerns surrounding the Vision Pro, devs who did not receive a ‘developer kit’ from Apple are now left having to shell out the full price for the headset just to test their apps. Why wouldn’t you just drop a quick port of the iPad app you’ve already developed onto the visionOS App Store and call it a day? 

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman notes that Apple’s initial inventory for the launch sits at about 80,000 units, which sold out within hours when pre-orders went live. If you’re a developer who hasn’t received a developer kit, you’ve got a very high cost of entry for not that much of a user base.

It may seem like 80,000 initial units is a lot, but if you’re going to put money and time into your app to maybe reach 80,000 people who might download it, you’re better off not bothering. To put that number into perspective, analysts estimate that Apple has already sold 20 million iPhone 15 models since its launch in September 2023. Gurman also notes that Apple is only expecting to see 300,000 to 400,000 Vision Pro units sold across the entirety of 2024.

It’s such a shame that Apple seems to be treating developers and streaming services like an afterthought when it comes to the Apple Vision Pro. The build-up to the official launch day has been plagued by more and more unfortunate and honestly confusing news – and just like Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify, many are losing confidence in the headset. It’ll be disappointing if Apple’s promised ‘million apps’ turn out to be mostly quick iPad ports.

It may be the case that the Vision Pro will have to stumble before it can walk, and should it live up to the hype and become a huge seller then we might see developers turn around and commit to developing dedicated visionOS apps. But until sales figures crystallize, it looks like early adopters might have to settle for less.

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Apple Vision Pro content can be beamed to other Apple devices via AirPlay
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Now that Apple Vision Pro preorders have gone live, we're learning more about Apple's expensive mixed reality headset – including the ways in which it will interact with other Apple devices such as iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

As per the Vision Pro tech specs page (via MacRumors), the device supports Apple's AirPlay standard for wirelessly transmitting video and audio. In other words, you'll be able to beam whatever's happening inside the Vision Pro to the screen of an iPhone, iPad, Mac computer, or Apple TV – anything that also supports AirPlay.

It's something we've seen in other headsets like the Meta Quest 3, the ability to mirror the display somewhere else, and it means if you're doing a presentation in a meeting or just playing around with friends and family, everyone you're with will be able to see whatever it is you're looking at in mixed reality.

If you're using a desktop Mac or a MacBook, then the connection can apparently go the other way too – so you can get whatever's on the macOS screen to show up inside the Vision Pro, and use your computer that way.

Getting hold of a Vision Pro

There is one bit of information to take note of here, which is that mirrored video can only be shown at a resolution of 720p (which has apparently been revised down from 1080p). It's not going to be the sharpest of pictures that you get.

Nevertheless, it's handy to be able to share what's inside your headset with other people, for all kinds of reasons. It's perhaps something that Apple Store staff will take advantage of as they demo the device to potential buyers too.

There were several months between the time the Apple Vision Pro was announced and when preorders went live, and you're not going to be able to walk into an Apple Store and buy a Vision Pro until Friday, February 2.

Everyone outside the US is going to have to wait even longer: it is possible to buy the headset internationally, but we wouldn't recommend it. We haven't heard when the device will go on sale in other regions, but we'll keep you posted.

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Repairing Apple’s Vision Pro headset will cost almost as much as a new unit – unless you do this
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Pre-orders for Apple’s Vision Pro have officially opened, and with it, the company has released information on how much it’ll cost to repair the headset. 

Be prepared to shell a ton out of pocket because prices are astronomical if you don’t have an AppleCare Plus insurance plan. According to the official support page, repairs fall under two categories: “Cracked Cover Glass” and “Other Damage”. The former will have an estimated cost of $ 799 while the latter will run you a whopping $ 2,399. As AppleInsider points out, that’s about “70 percent of the price of a new [unit].” Keep in mind that the price tags listed here don’t include shipping or taxes so expect them to be even higher. Additionally, Apple will not fix the cover glass even if the damage was done accidentally. It appears the only damage they'll repair for uninsured owners is manufacturing defects.

Batteries can be serviced too but Apple doesn’t say how much it’ll cost. The only thing they say is that a technician will fix it “for a fee”. Also, it won’t replace a battery worn down from normal use as that type of degradation is not covered by the warranty.

Hope you have insurance

If you have AppleCare Plus for the Vision Pro, costs go down considerably, hardware coverage expands, and you’ll be given access to company experts.

Instead of paying $ 800 for glass repair, insured users will only have to pay $ 300. This covers accidental damage, as well. The same goes for other types of damages. Rather than paying a $ 2,400 bill, the price will drop down to $ 300. Battery service is considerably better under AppleCare Plus. Replacing the power supply will be free, but the battery must hold “less than 80 percent of its original capacity” otherwise the company will refuse.

As for the expanded hardware coverage, authorized technicians will repair accidental damage done to the headset an unlimited number of times, however, it will cost you $ 300 each time. What’s more, technicians will fix damaged accessories like the charging cable for an extra $ 30.

When it comes to the aforementioned experts, they will help you address any issues with the device's software. They’ll answer questions you may have on navigating visionOS, how to connect to Wi-Fi, and help you resolve issues relating to first-party apps. 

Expensive endeavor

AppleCare Plus for the Vision Pro is available as two separate plans: monthly and fixed term. The monthly plan costs you $ 24.99 while the fixed option will run you $ 499 for two whole years. If you plan on getting insurance, you can buy it with the headset at checkout or within 60 days after purchasing it online. So, there is a weird time limit to getting AppleCare Plus, but considering you may be looking at a $ 2,400 bill without insurance, you may be better off opting for it.

The Vision Pro is proving itself to be an expensive endeavor; not just because of repairs, but also due to the multitude of accessories. Extra batteries cost $ 200, travel cases are another $ 200, Zeiss Optical lens inserts start at $ 99, and the list goes on. A holder for the battery made entirely out of plastic is $ 50. Interested customers will need to make sure their wallets can handle such an investment or buckle under it.

If you’re looking for a cheaper VR headset, check out TechRadar’s list of the best VR headset deals for January 2024. 

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Want an Apple Vision Pro and you’re not in the US? Trust me, you’ll want to wait
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Apple's been clear since the start that its Vision Pro mixed reality headset is launching in the US first and there are still no details about an international launch. Now, with Vision Pro preorders live, people are wondering if they can order in the US and then bring the spatial computing platform to their home in, say the UK. The short answer is yes but there are significant caveats.

For those unfamiliar with Apple's newest wearable, Apple Vision Pro is a mixed-reality headset that can provide a full-immersion VR experience, as well as an augmented reality one. 

Vision Pro ships on February 2 when there should be thousands of platform-ready apps, as well as some written specifically to take advantage of its cutting-edge features.

The good news is that Vision Pro is a travel-friendly device. It has that battery pack, after all, and Apple is selling a $ 200 carrying case. In addition, there's a Travel Mode setting that will counter the motion of the airplane. 

I'm not certain what would happen if you wore the headset on an airplane without the mode enabled, but while in flight, everything that works (or plays) at home in your Vision Pro, should work.

Limitations abound

If all of that sounds good to you and you live outside the US, there are some things you need to consider.

Ordering from outside the US, or even as someone who is visiting the US or VPN-ing into the US Apple Vision Pro pre-order site, may find it impossible to get hold of a headset.

Your Apple ID region must be US-based and all the app purchases you made must be through that ID.

If you wear glasses and need the $ 149 Zeiss inserts, you can't present an eyeglass prescription from outside the US, and Zeiss won't ship lens inserts to international customers.

Even if you do manage to come to the US, buy Apple Vision Pro, and bring it back to another country, there are no guarantees that the content you downloaded in the US will work anywhere else (there are often region restrictions based on content licensing). The same goes for the music and Apple TV-based content you buy through the headset. If it's region-set to US, it won't work

Finally, if you just paid $ 3,4999 for Vision Pro, you'll want the best Apple Care available. Unfortunately, Apple Support for the Vision Pro is not available outside the US.

Put simply, it's probably best to wait to buy Vision Pro until it's officially on sale outside the US.

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Apple Vision Pro won’t have Netflix, Spotify, or YouTube at launch – is the headset already doomed as a media player?
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Although excitement is building for the release of the Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset (pre-orders are now live), potential users will have to do without not just YouTube or Spotify, but Netflix as well. While Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus (obviously) are guaranteed to be available right out of the box, we do have to question if you’ll be able to take advantage of the headset's cinematic qualities without these three media giants.

While some streaming competitors are rushing to embrace the Apple Vision Pro (including Peacock, ESPN, and Paramount Plus), Netflix and YouTube seem to be playing the waiting game, and when the headset launches Apple Vision Pro users will have to access their respective services through the Safari browser (which has it's own Vision Pro version) rather than via dedicated apps. According to a report from Bloomberg, Netflix is the latest to confirm that it won’t be offering a visionOS app.

YouTube in particular is quite the omission considering that it is probably the best place to find immersive content, especially videos tailored to the VR experience capabilities of the Vision Pro. The videos available on the platform may not be as refined and curated as the content you can find on Netflix or Disney Plus, but it’s a media platform used by many people almost daily and leaves the headset feeling somewhat empty without it – more so now that Netflix is joining in abstaining from visionOS.

All work and no play? 

It’s a troubling start for Apple’s big foray into mixed reality. After all, if you’re sitting down to use a headset that cost you $ 3,499 but you have to pull up Safari and start typing away on your connected MacBook just to watch a video or an episode of your favourite Netflix show, is it really worth the money? Using Safari is a clunky workaround at best.

There are almost certainly multiple factors at play behind the scenes here. Netflix and Apple do have a rather strained relationship at the best of times. Netflix has historically had issues with Apple’s App Store revenue sharing, with this contention definitely not helped by the arrival of Apple TV. Another likely reason we aren’t seeing Netflix jump at the opportunity to produce a visionOS app is simply that it has little faith in Apple’s headset. 

In fact, you could argue that the streaming service has so little faith in the Vision Pro that it’s not even willing to modify a version of the Netflix iPadOS app to work on the new platform (not unlike how Instagram on iPadOS is just a scaled-up version of the iOS app). Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify are likely waiting to see how the headset is received before they any dedicate time and money to developing apps for it.  As someone who’s been skeptical of the headset since it was announced, I can’t help but feel more than a little vindicated by this – it’s not just me observing from the sidelines with very little confidence in Apple’s big plans. 

I mean, the Nintendo Switch came out in 2017 and that has a dedicated YouTube app (the Nintendo 3DS had one as well!) so if a nearly seven-year-old console can have a dedicated app for the world’s biggest video-streaming platform but this futuristic headset can’t, that really doesn’t look good for Apple. 

Ultimately, we can only speculate as to why exactly these big media companies are so hesitant, but one reason may be the way the headset has been marketed. Apple has from the jump advertised the Vision Pro as this incredibly immersive media experience device that will put you right in the middle of the action, but the fact that it’s called a Vision Pro – and the sky-high price tag – does give off the impression it's more for enterprise users. Could this case of confused identity be the reason behind this very visible display of hesitancy? 

As of yet, there’s no sign of when, if ever, we could expect a dedicated visionOS app to come from Netflix, YouTube, or Spotify. It’s likely we’ll have to wait and see how well the Vision Pro sells when it launches to have an idea of whether or not we actually will get these apps – if it does prove successful, they won’t have a choice but to commit.

If this hasn’t completely dampened your excitement for the Apple Vision Pro, there’s still quite a lot to look forward to regardless. While it’s mostly still on the more business-focused side of things, we now have a clear list of apps confirmed for the Vision Pro – including Slack, Display Plus, Zoom, Microsoft 365, Safari, and many more to come. And after all, if it truly is meant to be an enterprise device, would it even need a Netflix app?

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Your local Apple Store might close early thanks to the Vision Pro launch
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As the Apple Vision Pro launch looms on February 2, 2024, it appears Apple is changing its physical Store opening hours to accommodate the new headset’s arrival.

The alteration currently only affects two days, and will only impact some stores, but if you’re planning to head to your local Apple Store in the next couple of weeks we’d suggest checking the official Apple website first to see if it’s hours have temporarily changed.

As things currently stand, on January 21 all Apple Stores will close at 6pm local time. Some locations are usually open until 7pm on Sundays, so you’ll have an hour less to shop at them. Any Apple Stores that usually close at 6pm on Sundays don’t seem to be affected.

The early closing time is said to give Apple Store employees time to be trained on the new Vision Pro hardware before it goes on sale to the public (via MacRumors).

Lance Ulanoff wearing Apple Vision Pro

Our US editor-in-chief trying out the Vision Pro. (Image credit: Future)

Then on February 2, stores will open from 8am so people can sign up for in-store Vision Pro demos – that’s a whole two hours earlier than Apple Stores usually open. Demos will be assigned on a first-come first-severed basis so if you want to bag one you’ll need to make sure you arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Apple has said it will be running Vision Pro demonstrations from February 2 through to February 4, though it’s currently unclear whether the other two dates will also see stores open early as well.

If you don’t need to test out the new Apple headset before it launches, then you can preorder the Vision Pro on the official Apple Store page from 5am PT / 8am ET on January 19, 2024. If you’re on the fence about the new headset, you can read our guide on if you should preorder the Apple Vision Pro. 

Also remember that only Apple itself is selling the Vision Pro. Scammers may try and take advantage of the hype – and rumored lack of availability – to sell fake versions of the headset. If you aren’t shopping on Apple’s website or in one of its brick-and-mortar stores then you almost certainly aren’t about to buy a legit Vision Pro headset.

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