The Apple Vision Pro was all the rage when it launched earlier this year, but a new report suggests the headset is losing steam among consumers and may be having some trouble staying relevant in owners’ day-to-day lives.
A report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple cut shipments from 700-800k units to just 400k-450k units, adding further credence to Apple Vision Pro losing popularity.
Another report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that Apple Vision Pro sales have dropped from “a couple of units a day to just a handful in a whole week” at several Apple retail stores. Gurman cites people at those stores who provided first-hand accounts.
Gurman added that even Vision Pro demos are down and that Apple has tried to respond to the apparent slowdown with exceptionally aggressive marketing to spur more consumer interest.
While Gurman stopped short of describing the problem’s severity and didn’t mention how concerned Apple executives may be, he cautioned that even those who bought a Vision Pro have found that they’re using the headset less often than they did when it launched in February.
Apple’s Vision Pro dominated headlines when it launched earlier this year, owing in part to its mixed reality functionality and hefty $3,500 price tag. While it generally received positive reviews from users, many wondered if the app ecosystem could catch up and if people would want to wear the headset each day to watch movies, work, and hold FaceTime calls.
What’s worse, Vision Pro’s operating system, visionOS, suffered from a host of glitches and bugs early on in its lifecycle. Apple has since patched those problems and launched the long-awaited Spatial Personas feature allowing users to hold FaceTime calls as if they’re in the same room, it’s apparently done little to address sales problems.
That ultimately begs the question of why Vision Pro may be suffering from sluggish sales. It’s possible that with such a hefty sticker price, only early adopters willing to spend thousands on a first-generation product decided to buy the device, and other consumers are waiting for a price drop.
It’s also possible that the Vision Pro is facing the same fate as many other virtual reality and mixed reality headsets that serve a purpose, but have generally failed to attract a broad audience interested in using them every day.
Of course, only Apple knows for sure what’s going on and how it plans to address the problem. And as always, Apple isn’t discussing what its plans are for the Vision Pro. But if Gurman’s reporting is accurate, there are some alarm bells going off in Cupertino, and that will need to be addressed sooner rather than later.
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Maria Malik is your guide to the immersive world of Virtual Reality (VR). With a passion for VR technology, she explores the latest VR headsets, applications, and experiences, providing readers with in-depth reviews, industry insights, and a glimpse into the future of virtual experiences.
