The release date for Apple's Vision Pro is finally in our sights. The company announced that the headset will launch on February 2 in the U.S., with pre-orders opening on January 19 at 5 a.m. PST / 8 a.m. EST.
Vision Pro, which Apple announced at WWDC in June, will start at $3,499 with 256GB of storage and presumably go up from there. Zeiss Optical reader inserts will cost $99, while prescription inserts will run for an additional $149.
The headset will be sold at Apple Stores across the U.S. and on its website. Previously, there had been rumors you would have to buy in-store, but those don't seem to have come to fruition.
While we've seen Apple use a single band that fits behind your head in images and videos, that will be just one option. "Apple Vision Pro comes with a Solo Knit Band and Dual Loop Band — giving users two options for the fit that works best for them." That suggests the other band goes both over and behind the head, which some early preview users had discussed but hasn't been pictured.
The package also features a protective cover for the front of the headset, a light seal with two cushions, a polishing cloth, an external battery, a USB Type-C charging cable, and a power adapter.
Apple is using two chips to power the Vision Pro: its M2 processor for general computing and a new R1 chip that handles the data from a slew of sensors, microphones, and cameras. The two displays have a 4K micro-LED panel (one for each eye). Apple says its 23 million pixels are packed onto screens the "size of a postage stamp."
Apple has suggested that the Vision Pro could be used for general-purpose computing (including, in some instances, running a Mac screen on the Vision Pro) as well as for entertainment and gaming. It also showed plenty of apps like the ones you might see on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad and suggested developers can get their iOS and iPad OS apps running on visionOS without much optimization. That should, in theory, allow for plenty of apps out of the box when the headset launches. The Vision Pro has a Digital Crown, similar to the Apple Watch, that will let users move between AR and VR environments. We've also heard about iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max users being able to record 3D "spatial" videos and photos. I'm curious to try that with my own phone.
This is Apple's biggest new product category in years. It's expensive and unlikely to be a volume seller at first. But come February, we'll get a better look at Apple's plan for the future.
