Apple stores across the US are seeing lines form on Friday with people waiting to purchase the new $3,499 Vision Pro that went on sale at 8am ET.
Those waiting outside are set to receive one-on-one demonstrations with the device that features a single, thick band on the back of the head, connecting a large and sleek screen that sits over the eyes.
Apple CEO Tim Cook arrived at the flagship Apple store in Manhattan for the launch and greeted early risers who were standing in line before the doors had opened.
The Vision Pro is over five times as expensive as the rival Meta Quest 3, but Apple sold out pre-orders for the device on January 19 – 200,000 units were reserved.
While the headset starts at nearly $3,500, customers can purchase upgrades like storage and $149 prescription inserts.
The first Apple Vision Pro headsets were sold in the US Friday
Apple CEO Tim Cook arrived at the flagship Apple store in Manhattan this morning for the event and greeted early risers who were standing in line before the doors had opened
The headset launched alongside the iPhone 15 family in September, which Cook hailed as a device ‘you look out of and not at.’
‘With Vision Pro, you’re no longer limited by a display,’ he said during last year’s event.
The headset runs on VisionOS, which Apple touts as ‘the world’s first spatial operating system.’
Apple calls it ‘spatial computing’ because it blends content into the space around you.
Those waiting outside Apple Stores received one-on-one demonstrations with the device
Apple stores across the US are seeing lines form around the building by people set to purchase the new $3,499 Vision Pro that went on sale on Friday at 8am ET
The device that features a single, thick band on the back of the head, connecting a large, sleek screen that sits over the eyes
Spatial computing is a way to describe the intersection between the physical world around us and a virtual world fabricated by technology while enabling humans and machines to harmoniously manipulate objects and spaces.
Accomplishing these tasks often incorporates elements of augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence.
Cathy Hackl, a consultant who runs a startup working on apps for the Vision Pro, said: ‘This is a pivotal moment,’ Hackl said.
‘Spatial computing will enable devices to understand the world in ways they never have been able to do before.
‘It is going to change human-to-computer interaction, and eventually every interface – whether it’s a car or a watch – will become spatial computing devices.’
To accompany the ‘pivotal moment,’ Apple announced Thursday that there are more than 600 new apps designed specifically for the Vision Pro.
Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations, said: ‘Apple Vision Pro is unlocking the imaginations of our worldwide developer community, and we’re inspired by the range of spatial experiences they’ve created for this exciting new platform.
Customers were overjoyed after purchasing the new Vision Pro at the Apple Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan
Cook chatted with customers in the New York store that was packed with people hoping to test the Vision Pro headset
To accompany the ‘pivotal moment,’ Apple announced Thursday that there are more than 600 new apps designed specifically for the Vision Pro
‘With more than 600 new spatial experiences to explore in the all-new App Store, alongside more than one million compatible apps across iOS and iPadOS, users can discover a wide array of apps that expand the boundaries of what’s possible.’
Users can watch movies and TV shows with Vision Pro, which displays a large screen that plays the content, and they can also play over 100 Apple Arcade games on a screen as large as they want.
For work purposes, the headset can be used with a trackpad and keyboard to perform tasks that would use a traditional computer with multiple displays.
Vision Pro can also playback memories in your living room, such as videos of your children or a fun party you attended.
The Vision Pro is available with 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage – and the more storage, the higher the price.
A headset with the second storage option starts at $3,699 and $3,899 for 1TB.
Apple has also launched a travel case for $199 and a battery pack holder for $49.95.
The holder may come in handy because the device must be plugged into a power source in order to work.
But users will get two hours of play on a single charge.
Users can watch movies and TV shows with Vision Pro, which displays a large screen that plays the content, and they can also play over 100 Apple Arcade games on a screen as large as they want
The New York City store was buzzing with people on Friday.
The front display is formed from laminated glass, which flows into the custom aluminum alloy frame that gently curves around the user’s face.
‘Flexible straps ensure audio remains close to the user’s ears, while a Head Band — available in multiple sizes — is three-dimensionally knitted as a single piece to provide cushioning, breathability, and stretch,’ according to Apple.
‘The band is secured with a simple mechanism, making it easy to change to another size or style of the band.’
There is also a Digital Crown, similar to the Apple Watch, on the side that controls how present or immersed users are in an environment.
Apple’s headset also reacts to a user’s movements through hand gestures and eye in an attempt to make the device seem like another piece of human physiology.
While wearing the headset, users will also be able to use just their hands to pull up and arrange an array of virtual computer screens, similar to a scene featuring Tom Cruise in the 2002 film, ‘Minority Report.’
This is possible through the new Optic ID, a secure authentication system that analyzes a user’s iris under various invisible LED light exposures and then compares it to the enrolled Optic ID data protected by the Secure Enclave to unlock Apple Vision Pro instantly.
Apple touted its headset features ‘industry-leading privacy and security’ to let users keep control of their data.
But the Vision Pro could expose yet another disturbing side of technology if its use of spatial computing is so compelling that people start seeing the world differently when they are not wearing the headset and start to believe life is far more interesting when seen through the goggles.
That scenario could worsen the screen addictions that have become endemic since the iPhone’s debut and deepen the isolation that digital dependence tends to cultivate.
