In brief: Apple's $3,500 Vision Pro augmented reality headset was always going to be a product that appealed mostly to hardcore fans of the company and tech enthusiasts with deep pockets, but it seems even they are losing interest as demand for demos wanes and sales fall from a couple of units per day to a handful in an entire week.
It took Apple eight years and billions of dollars to create the Vision Pro. While the $3,500 price tag meant it was never going to be a huge seller, there was still plenty of interest and sales during its initial launch period – remember all the people using the headset in unadvisable situations, like while driving a car. There was also the software developer who wore one at his wedding.
#JustMarried pic.twitter.com/c8FQms30WT
– Jacob (@jahvascript) February 10, 2024
But that initial wave of interest and excitement has ended. Bloomberg's Apple expert Mark Gurman writes that the number of people taking the (up to) 25-minute demos of the headset in Apple stores has declined drastically, and many of those who do make bookings often don't show up.
Sales of the Vision Pro are also reported to have fallen off a cliff. It's estimated that Apple sold between 160,000 and 180,000 devices in pre-orders across a weekend in January ahead of the official launch.
What might be of equal concern to Apple are the reports of those who bought a Vision Pro hardly using the headset anymore. Even Gurman says he used his unit several times per day during the first couple of months of ownership, but he's now down to using it once or twice per week.
Gurman cites the same complaints other people have about the Vision Pro for his reduced use: it's cumbersome, weighty, and there is no killer app. The process of setting it up to watch a movie simply is not worth the time, he says. There are also users complaining of discomfort, neck pain, and even black eyes after using the device.
Apple's answer could be to copy what Google did with Google Glass and focus more on the Vision Pro's use in the enterprise space. "We're thrilled to see the innovative ways organizations are already using Apple Vision Pro, from planning fire response operations to iterating on the most intricate details of an engine," said Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations and Enterprise Marketing.
Apple is still bringing new features to the Vision Pro, including the recently launched Spatial Personas that updates the virtual representations of users to make them look like floating ghostly torsos.
The Vision Pro is only on sale in the US, but it's set to come to other countries later this year. Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed last month that China will be one of these locations.
Apple Vision Pro is facing declining interest and sales among consumers
