Slow Apple Vision Pro rollout expected, especially in Europe - report
Bloomberg predicts a phased launch of the Apple Vision Pro. Europe may not be served until late 2024 or even later.
Apple's Vision Pro mixed reality headset could arrive in Europe later than potential European buyers had hoped. In a report, news agency Bloomberg reveals plans that predict a US launch in early 2024. Other markets will follow around the end of 2024, according to the report.
The UK and Canada could follow first, shortly followed by Asia and Europe. However, this order is not set in stone. Apple engineers are currently busy localizing the device for France, Germany, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, according to the anonymous sources with insight into Apple's "internal matters".
Late European launch of Apple's headset.
In the United States, the Apple Vision Pro will be available in all Apple stores from the start - but special promotional areas are planned only in selected outlets, the sources said. There, customers will be able to try out demo units while seated and customize accessories to fit their personal size.
The special areas are reserved for stores in major metropolitan areas, including New York and Los Angeles. Later, they will also be available in the rest of the country.
"Apple will ask in-store buyers to make an appointment to purchase the Vision Pro," the report said, "that follows a strategy the company used for the Apple Watch in 2015. The driving force behind the idea is to ensure customers walk out with a product that fits properly." To that end, for example, the company plans to offer custom prescription lenses and customized light protection after measuring the head through an iPhone app.
Third-party vendors are not expected to be able to sell the mixed-reality headset until 2025. Before Apple provides them with one or two demonstration units each, the company would have to work out supply chain and sales force training solutions.
Recently, the Financial Times reported on technical difficulties in production and reduced quantities of the Apple Vision Pro.
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