After Apple Vision Pro opened its booking in the United States recently, due to booming sales, the delivery time has been delayed until March.
Vision Pro is Apple's first new product category since the release of the Apple Watch in 2015, and also the first new computing platform developed entirely under the leadership of CEO Tim Cook. Cook said, "Just like Mac brings us to personal computers and iPhone brings us to mobile computing, Vision Pro will introduce us to spatial computing, marking the beginning of a milestone."
Despite the booming pre-sale of Vision Pro, the purchasing business has been lukewarm. A merchant told a reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily, "There are many inquiries, but not many buyers.". But the "scalper price" of third-party platforms remains high.
The highest price on third-party platforms is 4 times the original price
According to Apple's official website, the 256GB version of Vision Pro is priced at $3499 (approximately RMB 25000); The 512GB version is priced at $3699 (approximately RMB 26600), while the 1TB version is priced at $3899 (approximately RMB 28000). Configuring regular Zeiss lenses requires an additional payment of $99 (approximately RMB 720), while configuring prescription lenses requires a payment of $149 (approximately RMB 1066).
A reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily found that a large number of Vision Pro purchasing agents have appeared on platforms such as JD.com, Taobao, and Xianyu. Due to the small volume of the first batch of goods, the pricing of purchasing agents has been continuously increasing, generally between 39000 yuan and 49000 yuan, with the highest even reaching nearly 90000 yuan.
There are two main modes for merchants to pre-sale Vision Pro: one is the fixed price pickup mode, where customers need to pay the full price and can ship the goods from the United States to China in mid February; Another option is the pre paid deposit model, where customers need to pay the deposit in advance and then pay the final payment after receiving the goods.
The product details page of Taobao generally indicates that the first batch of purchasing Vision Pro is expected to arrive in China from the end of February to early March. Some people even attached purchase screenshots on Xianyu, indicating that they have already obtained the product and can take the human flesh back to China by plane on the second day of release on February 3rd. The purchasing price is 43000 yuan and a deposit of 5000 yuan needs to be paid in advance.
It is worth noting that a reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily found that the number of people who place orders and purchase Vision Pro on major e-commerce platforms is mostly in single digits, with the highest number being only around 20. It can be seen that in the face of high prices, ordinary consumers seem to be less likely to pay.
Obtaining a comfortable wearing experience remains a major challenge
As the most complex and expensive wearable device in Apple's history, VisionPro faces several pressing issues - body weight, customized headbands, and customized lenses.
Firstly, Vision Pro is not lightweight. Apple stated that in terms of weight, it depends on the use of light seals and headbands. The light seal is attached to the fixed device in front of the screen through magnetic suction, forming a tight fit between the device and the user's face to block light. The headband is used to fix the back of the head. The head display weighs between 600-650 grams, which is equivalent to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. According to reports, after trying it on the day of pre-sale, several testers said, "After using it for half an hour, I felt dizzy and sweaty due to weight and other reasons."
Secondly, in order to ensure the fit of the mask, Apple will make an online reservation channel and require users to provide a facial scan view to choose a suitable mask. Users who wear glasses need to submit a vision prescription issued by American ophthalmic nursing professionals to order lenses. It is understood that customized glasses support limited vision and do not provide astigmatic lenses.
The first batch of domestic users who purchase through third-party channels generally do not undergo online verification or upload prescriptions, and are unable to try them on offline. The Vision Pro they receive is usually a size M suitable for most head shapes, and may not necessarily provide a comfortable experience when worn in practice.
But fortunately, the Vision Pro light seal and headband are detachable and replaceable, and third-party manufacturers also have the opportunity to create light seal and headband accessories for Vision Pro.
It is worth noting that a reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily found that there are merchants on Taobao who provide customized accessories for Vision Pro, and currently face masks and lenses have been put on shelves.
The merchant stated that the third-party domestically produced mask perfectly fits the face and Vision Pro. After taking the photo, a dedicated customer service representative will coordinate to measure the head circumference and facial data online. The deposit is 119 yuan, and the estimated selling price is 355 yuan.
A merchant told a reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that domestic masks are made of elastic materials and can be delivered within two weeks after the official release of Vision Pro. "There must be a difference from the original, but normal use must be ensured.".
In terms of lenses, merchants claim to support customized nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, offering multiple lens manufacturers such as Zeiss and Yishilu to choose from. The final selling price varies depending on the selected lens brand series, and an additional 299 yuan is required on top of the selected lens market price.
Users expect Vision Pro to establish a high-quality ecosystem
As a brand new ecosystem product from Apple, will Vision Pro usher in a new round of content revolution? The answer is still an unknown number.
One concern is the lack of support for top-level streaming applications. According to Bloomberg, Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube do not intend to develop separate applications for the device, at least in the early stages of its launch. However, streaming services can be accessed through Safari and other web browsers on Vision Pro.
Another concern is the scarcity of ecology. Vision Pro runs on the visionOS system. Previously, there were reports that visionOS is mainly aimed at iOS developers, but they are not yet familiar with the spatial development environment. Moreover, the current version of the visionOS app is still limited to 2D interaction and cannot fully utilize the hardware capabilities of Vision Pro.
However, many domestic content manufacturers are currently conducting related development. Tianyu Digital Technology's subsidiary, Zhijing Yuanchuang, stated that the company is currently applying for the Apple Vision Pro development kit and is vigorously expanding virtual human technology into application scenarios; Fengyuzhu announced the establishment of the MR Research Institute and has applied to Apple for the Vision Pro development kit.
A user on Xiaohongshu posted a note stating that due to various experiential concerns, their reservation for Vision Pro has been cancelled. However, they are cautious and optimistic, hoping that a vision OS application with more developers will be launched in the future, and plan to personally go to offline stores to experience the Chinese version of Vision Pro when it is released in the future.
"I want to experience the complete process of offline in store purchases, including 20-25 minutes of experience and lens matching. These services are part of VP products and cannot be experienced on overseas Taobao. Moreover, the content of the current VP is not ready yet, and the initial VP system only supports English input methods such as Siri and American accounts."
Apple announced that Vision Pro will be officially released on February 2nd in all Apple Store and online stores in the United States, but the specific date for its release in China has not yet been announced.
Guo Minggui, an analyst at Tianfeng International Securities, believes that Apple may release the Vision Pro in markets outside the United States before WWDC 2024. The WWDC Developer Conference is usually held in June.