Back in the middle of the outgoing month, Apple deemed it necessary to announce its intention to launch sales of the Vision Pro augmented reality headset through official channels in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore by the end of June, and today the corresponding products have arrived in the company’s branded stores in the abovementioned regions.
Fonte da imagem: Apple
Until now, the Vision Pro headset has been offered on the US market, where it arrived at the beginning of the year, but Chinese intermediaries have found ways to bring Apple’s new product to China from the very first days. Doubling the price relative to the official level, these entrepreneurs did not find many customers, but some began to offer the Vision Pro for rent, allowing users to get some idea of the device before they decide to buy.
As noted in the richly illustrated press release from Apple, the start of Vision Pro sales in the company’s official stores in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore is accompanied by the same procedure of lengthy familiarization with the capabilities of the device. Inside the Apple stores, special areas with sofas are equipped that allow both a potential buyer and a consultant trained in a special demonstration procedure, who is armed with a tablet, to sit comfortably. At the same time, accessories included with the Vision Pro headset have also gone on sale, so you can get everything you need in one visit to the store.
In China, for example, Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of retail, personally attended the Vision Pro launch ceremony. She personally congratulated some Vision Pro buyers on their purchase. Her visit to China shows the importance of the region for Apple as a sales market for a new type of product. As previously reported, Apple had to adapt the Vision Pro software to the specifics of the local market. Streaming services from American providers are prohibited here; instead, Apple customers will be offered local alternatives. In addition, the Chinese company ByteDance was supposed to develop the Douyin app for the Vision Pro, which is an analogue of TikTok.
Pre-orders for the Vision Pro are also set to begin today in Germany, France, Australia, the UK and Canada, but the device won’t go on sale in local markets until July 12. The relatively rapid expansion of Apple’s headset in overseas markets, according to some experts, is evidence of modest sales results in its home market, the US.