On June 28th, Apple's first hybrid reality headset device, Vision Pro, was officially released in China. According to Apple's official website, the 256GB version of Vision Pro starts at 29999 yuan, the 512G version starts at 31499 yuan, and the 1T version starts at 32999 yuan. On the 28th, a reporter from First Financial visited Apple stores in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Shanghai and found that the Vision Pro had arrived in the store with sufficient supply. Some employees said that a trial still needed to be made, and the number of appointments had been scheduled for early July.
The reporter saw at the Guangzhou Tianhuan Apple Direct Store that several users had purchased the Vision Pro. A flagship Apple store employee in Shenzhen said that currently, companies or developers purchase Vision Pro more frequently. The reporter learned that the application adaptation to Vision Pro is still limited, and currently domestic developers are still promoting the development of Vision Pro applications.
Within one and a half hours, 4 users purchased Vision Pro
After the mall opened at 10 a.m., the reporter arrived at an Apple flagship store in Shenzhen and found that six or seven users were trying Vision Pro on site. The salesperson explained that the Vision Pro displayed in the store cannot be held or tried by hand. You need to make an appointment in advance to try it out. The reporter also stayed in an Apple flagship store in Shanghai for nearly half an hour, during which about 10 customers tried on Vision Pro in the store.
Reporter Zheng Xutong photographed in Shenzhen
At 11 o'clock in the morning, the reporter arrived at the Apple Direct Store located in Tianhuan Square, Guangzhou. The "C position" at the entrance displayed the Vision Pro that was launched today. The store staff said that it opened for business at 8 o'clock today, and there was a continuous stream of customers coming to experience the Vision Pro. The store currently has 8 devices available for experience, and you can try on the Vision Pro in the experience area on the second floor. The reporter saw that the second floor was filled with customers who were experiencing or waiting to experience Vision Pro. However, when the reporter requested a try on, they were informed that the appointment was fully booked today, and adding seats on site would require waiting for at least 1 hour. There were also at least 10 customers waiting to experience it, each lasting about half an hour. The reporter waited for an hour and a half, but still couldn't queue up to experience it.
Apple previously opened the Vision Pro experience reservation on its official website. The staff of the Apple Direct Store in Tianhuan Square told reporters that the reservation was already full on the day of the opening, and the available time for reservation is around July 3rd. The staff of Apple's flagship store in Shenzhen also stated that the number of people who have scheduled to try the Vision Pro has been arranged until early July. Users can directly purchase the Vision Pro. Currently, 256G, 512G, and 1T versions are available and the supply is sufficient. The flagship store can currently try the Vision Pro, but authorized experience stores cannot try it and can only purchase it. It is expected that more people will come to experience it the next weekend.
From the purchase situation, the staff of the Apple Direct Store in Tianhuan Square said that there were still some stocks in the store today, and many customers completed their purchases on the spot. The reporter stayed in the Tianhuan Apple direct store for about an hour and a half, and saw at least 4 users buying the Vision Pro. A young couple told the reporter that they wanted to buy the Vision Pro and go back to play. The flagship store staff of Apple in Shenzhen stated that currently, most consumers hope to try it out before deciding whether to make a purchase. In contrast, the company currently makes more purchases.
Reporter Liu Xiaojie photographed in Guangzhou
Reporter Liu Xiaojie photographed in Guangzhou
At an Apple flagship store in Shanghai, reporters saw customers coming to pick up their products one after another. One staff member refused to disclose how many devices were sold today, while another staff member said he helped about four customers who purchased Vision Pro install the devices in the morning. The reporter saw that a customer suddenly ordered two units and said they wanted to experience them with their girlfriend. However, the Vision Pro devices are still independent and do not yet have synchronization functionality between devices.
The reporter learned from an Apple flagship store in Shanghai that after experiencing Vision Pro, users generally reported that the device's image quality was impressive, with the main drawbacks being "expensive" and "slightly heavy". The reporter also experienced Vision Pro at Apple's flagship store in Shenzhen. According to the store staff, the weight of Vision Pro is about 600 grams.
During half an hour of trying on the Vision Pro, the reporter felt a sore neck and a noticeable pressure on the face. After trying on it, the face turned red, which may also be due to the size of the selected light shield not fitting well enough. The immersive experience of Vision Pro is quite impressive, with simple gestures and clear visuals, without any obvious dizziness. In addition to displaying virtual content, real indoor scenes can also be seen. The reporter experienced an application of "Encounter Dinosaur", where the scales of the dinosaur are clearly visible and can interact with the butterfly in the picture when reaching out.
The reporter saw that the applications in Vision Pro include JD.com, QQ Music, DingTalk Meeting, etc. Some 3D videos can be seen in Migu Video. The salesperson stated that there is currently relatively little adaptation for gaming applications.
In addition, regarding the differences between the Vision Pro launched in China and the US version, an employee at an Apple flagship store in Shanghai told reporters that there is no difference in the device, and the software, like the Apple Store, has differences due to the different regions where the Apple account is located. "At present, the software ecosystem of Vision Pro is still under development." He said, "At present, Tencent Video, Tiktok and other software are available on Vision Pro, similar to iPhone, but some software versions have not yet been adapted."
Developers claim that Vision Pro can have more usage scenarios
From the perspective of usage scenarios, a staff member at Apple's flagship store in Shenzhen stated that the company's users are currently purchasing more, such as developing software. Currently, Vision Pro's main usage scenarios include game development, biomedical, and some manufacturing industries. For example, car manufacturers use Vision Pro to showcase relevant scenarios to users in showrooms. The salesperson also stated that, in addition to some entertainment and office scenarios, Vision Pro can be applied in multiple scenarios, such as decoration companies using Vision Pro to display decoration effects, virtual try on during e-commerce shopping, etc. Multiple application scenarios still need to be developed.
The reporter learned that some developers had already secured the first batch of Vision Pro devices earlier. Shi+AR is a developer of a spatial computing platform. Previously, the team ordered two Apple Vision Pro devices to develop the combination of EasyAR Mega's large space positioning and Vision Pro. After using it for several months, Tu Yiyi, Deputy General Manager and Operations Manager of Vision+AR, expressed to reporters that the image quality of Vision Pro has been significantly improved, "especially the experience of encountering dinosaurs, which left a deep impression on everyone."
In addition to Apple's main promotion of office scenes and immersive entertainment, Tu Yi believes that Vision Pro can provide more cultural and entertainment experience scenarios that integrate virtual and real elements on larger spatial scales, such as shopping centers, scenic spots, and amusement parks.
Regarding the release of Vision Pro in mainland China, Tu Yi believes that this would be a good start. "Most consumers' stereotypical impression of XR (Extended Reality) devices still lingers on the impression that they would faint when trying VR (Virtual Reality) glasses a few years ago, and many people have stopped experiencing such devices for several years. Vision Pro allows customers to experience it directly in major Apple experience stores, which can refresh everyone's impression of XR devices, form new expectations, and create a good environment for the XR application developer ecosystem."
At the upcoming 2024 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in July, Vision+AR will serve as a space technology provider to bring interactive displays in the MR experience area, combining Vision Pro devices with glasses such as Rokid AR and PICO MR. Through Tu Yi's introduction, viewers can learn the harp through Vision Pro on-site and watch Van Gogh paintings resembling giant screen movies.
Other market analysts are not entirely optimistic about the shipping prospects of Vision Pro this year. Guo Minggui, an analyst at Tianfeng International Securities, recently stated on social media that his observation is that after buying Vision Pro and using it a few times, it becomes useless. If users are in such a common situation, this is not something that can be solved simply by making a low spec and low-priced version. In April of this year, Guo Minggui revised his Vision Pro shipment forecast. Guo Minggui stated that despite the previous market consensus of 700000-800000 units or more in 2024, according to his survey, Apple has reduced its Vision Pro shipment to 400000-450000 units in 2024. He stated that the issues exposed by VIsion Pro include being overweight and limited applications specifically designed for it.
In the secondary market, with the release of Vision Pro in China, the stock prices of several A-share Chinese supply chain companies, Vision Pro, have turned red today. Lingyi Zhizao had previously risen for three consecutive days, with an intraday increase of 10.05% on June 28th. On June 28th, during trading, LanSi Technology rose 1.9%, while LiXun Precision rose 1.18%.
