Apple took a leap just two months ago and launched an entire brand new product category for the company with the release of the Apple Vision Pro.
In the days and weeks after its February release, Apple's new AR/VR headset was the talk of social media. Tech reviewers raved about how using it was a glimpse into the future of home computers. And the Apple Vision Pro memes were in abundance. Who can forget the guy who wore an Apple Vision Pro at his wedding?
Then February came and went — and there's not much talk about anymore. It turns out that there's likely a good reason for the sudden silence around the product: the Apple Vision Pro simply isn't selling.
Apple Vision Pro sales tank
According to prominent analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple has revised its Apple Vision Pro shipment expectations for 2024 down to 400,000 to 450,000 units.
Apple originally expected to sell as many as 800,000 Apple Vision Pro units this year, reports Kuo, who has accurately broken news on the company over the years due to his supply chain contacts.
This means that Apple had to reduce its sales expectations for the Apple Vision Pro by as much as 50 percent.
Furthermore, Kuo reports that Apple revised these numbers before launching the Apple Vision Pro in markets outside the U.S. Kuo takes that to mean that U.S. sales have declined sharply, forcing Apple to adjust its expectations for international markets as well.
However, this shouldn't be too surprising.
Apple launched a brand new product in the emerging, relatively nascent product category of AR/VR headsets. On top of that, the starting price point of $3,499 heavily reduces the potential consumer base for the Apple Vision Pro. Most consumers just aren't willing to fork over thousands of dollars for a head-mounted display.
It's also interesting that the Apple Vision Pro swiftly faded from online discussion after much fanfare. As Fast Company points out, Google Trends data shows that general interest in the Apple Vision Pro completely dropped shortly after its release and has continued on a downward trend.
The incoming issues for Apple with the Apple Vision Pro were even visible to Mashable when we attended the big Apple Vision Pro launch at the 5th Avenue Apple Store in Manhattan where even Apple CEO Tim Cook was in attendance. There were lines for the event, but unlike other Apple release day events, those lines dissipated fairly quickly. Even more interesting was that quite a few people had lined up due to the hype and wanted to try the Apple Vision Pro out, with no intent of making a purchase.
It's unclear where Apple plans to takes its AR/VR headset ambitions from here. According to Kuo, there was a prediction that Apple would release a new Apple Vision Pro model in 2025 – something that the analyst is no longer expecting now.
