I’ve been telling you that I plan to get the Vision Pro ever since Apple unveiled the spatial computer back in June. But I’ve had to change my expectations in recent months. Reports said that Apple will start selling the Vision Pro in the US by March. An international rollout will then take several months, with buyers in other countries looking at a late 2024 release.
Apple reportedly wants to give each buyer a custom device, which means you’ll have to get an appointment at a retail store to get yours. That’s certainly great news for the overall Vision Pro experience. But it means I might not get my Vision Pro until at some point in 2025, when Europe finally gets it.
While I’m speculating here, the closer we get to 2025, the more likely it would be for me to wait for the Vision Pro 2 or the cheaper model. Those spatial computers might be here by then, so getting the original model might not make sense.
The newest Vision Pro development indicates that Apple will start Vision Pro training in mid-January at its retail stores. That timeframe is exciting because Apple could release the Vision Pro soon after that in the US. But even so, it’s not good news to me as long as we don’t have a release date for the gadget.
Mark Gurman wrote in his Power On newsletter on Bloomberg that Apple is scheduling training seminars for retail store employees. The process will reportedly begin in the middle of January.
Apple is said to be planning to fly a few people from each US Apple retail store to Cupertino, California. Each employee will be trained for two days. They will then return to the retail stores to train the local Apple employees.
Gurman says this is a “high-stakes” endeavor. “The Vision Pro’s setup process is going to be complex and not something Apple wants to screw up,” he wrote.
The device needs to be customized for each person, and a poor fitting could ultimately ruin the user’s experience. Every step will be carefully orchestrated, including how retail employees approach a customer and how they place the device on a user’s head.
That certainly sounds like a great onboarding process, and I totally get it. I would definitely want to buy a Vision Pro headset that fits my head perfectly.
I’m not too worried about the weight of the spatial computer, though that can be a problem. I’m mostly concerned about nausea, even though I know I have little reason to be worried. Still, an in-store purchase process where I’d get to try the Vision Pro for several minutes might be enough to alleviate my concerns.
Gurman says that will be the purchase process for the Vision Pro, at least initially. Buyers might be able to reserve a Vision Pro online, but they’ll be pushed to pick it up in a store.
In addition to training employees, retail locations will reportedly receive new equipment to assemble and box up the headset. These developments suggest the launch is near. But there’s no release date in sight.
Gurman says he expects the Vision Pro to be available to buyers before March. He notes that Apple has been aiming for a January release.
The earlier the US sales start, the earlier the international Vision Pro rollout will be, of course. If you’re like me, that means having to wait at least another year to get the device.
