Go Figure, Apple’s Super Pricey Vision Pro Headset Fails To Sell Out At Launch

When the Apple Vision Pro went up for preorder on January 19th at an eye-watering $3,499, we knew it would not be an easy road ahead for Apple. Of course, the technology is rather cool, and the Vision Pro could bring a lot of advances to the augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) markets, but at the same time, who can responsibly afford it? This is the question floating around, as the Vision Pro failed to sell out but still did decently well over the past few days, according to preliminary reports.

The Vision Pro is Apple’s foray into what they call “spatial computing” or what is otherwise known as augmented reality. It features a micro-OLED display supporting up to a 100Hz refresh rate and 92% DCI-P3 coverage. Under the hood is Apple’s own M2 silicon with an 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16-core neural engine, and 16GB of memory across all of it. It also features Apple’s R1 chip to process input from “12 cameras, five sensors, and six microphones to ensure that content feels like it is appearing right in front of the user’s eyes, in real time.” Users can interface with this information by using hand gestures or EyeSight, an eye-tracking tool that allows you to glance at something to select it or highlight it for others.


While all of this sounds pretty awesome, Apple’s starting price point of $3,499 is definitely going to be a show-stopper for many people. This was shown by reports of the Vision Pro 512GB and 1TB models still being in stock in Apple stores nationwide. However, this is not to discount that analysts estimate that Apple sold 160-180,000 of the Vision Pro units since preorders became available last Friday, January 19th. Clearly, there is a market for this, but perhaps it is not as big as some expected.


Analysts also expect that Apple ought to be able to ship 500,000 Vision Pro units this year, but we will have to see how that shapes up. The Vision Pro seems like a productivity device akin to the Hololens from Microsoft, which was geared more toward corporations looking to advance their technology capabilities. We will also be curious to see if there is mass adoption in the software space, as YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix have already cast off the Apple Vision Pro. Meta and its suite of apps could follow suit, which could be problematic for early adopters who want to use the Vision Pro more casually. And when you think about the Meta Quest 3, starting at just $499, the Vision Pro is a bit of a tough sell. 

In any event, we suspect that this will be an interesting year not only for augmented reality but virtual reality as well. As it stands, Apple is leading the charge right now but that could change rather quickly. As such, stay tuned to HotHardware for the latest on AR/VR news.