Apple's Vision Pro sold out pre-orders, but that doesn't mean it is a hit
Technology
Analysts estimate that Apple sold 160,000 to 180,000 units of the $3,500 VR headset over the weekend
(Web Desk) - Apple's Vision Pro mixed reality headset may be one of the company's most hyped new products in recent years, but a steep price tag and questionable usefulness may have contributed to a quick decline in pre-order demand.
Earlier this month, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo estimated that the company would be producing between 60,000 and 80,000 units for the Vision Pro's official release on Feb. 2.
Those limited stock numbers seemed to be confirmed when the Vision Pro became available for pre-order in the U.S. on Jan. 19.
In a post on Medium, Kuo points out that pre-orders sold out almost immediately, and within a few hours, the estimated shipping times for the Vision Pro had extended to five to seven weeks, pushing delivery well into March.
However, even though shipping times skyrocketed in those first few hours, they remained the same for the next two days, a possible indicator that once a handful of extremely enthusiastic first-adopters got their headsets, demand for the device quickly diminished.
(In contrast, new iPhones typically sell out and see shipping times continue to increase for several days after pre-orders open.)
Based on those shipping times and estimated stock levels, Kuo predicts that Apple sold 160,000 to 180,000 Vision Pro headsets over the weekend.
Apple hasn't shared any official details on how many Vision Pro devices were sold.
Kuo concludes that these estimated sales numbers confirm that the $3,500 device (for the cheapest configuration with 256GB of storage) is currently a niche product for the company, and that Apple will sell and ship somewhere around 500,000 units this year.
For comparison, from January to June of 2023, Apple sold 79.5 million of the various iPhone 14 models.
The Apple Vision Pro is considered to be one of the most advanced virtual/augmented reality devices on the market, with high-resolution displays and highly accurate hand tracking.
But concerns over its weight, an awkward external battery pack, and a lack of must-have apps and uses for the spatial computing device seem to have most consumers taking a wait and see approach.
