Many of us have moved on from the Vision Pro less than three months after its buzzy launch, but Apple can not. The company slashed its 2024 sales expectations for the Vision Pro to nearly half what the market expected for this year, according to a new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on Tuesday. As initial hype fades, we may be entering the much-anticipated “flop era” for Vision Pro.
“Apple cut orders before launching Vision Pro in non-US markets, which means that demand in the US market has fallen sharply beyond expectations, making Apple take a conservative view of demand in non-US markets,” Kuo said in Tuesday’s analyst note.
The longtime analyst says Apple cut its expectations on 2024 Vision Pro shipments to 400,000 - 450,000 units, far less than the market consensus of 700,000 - 800,000 units. Mind you, Apple reportedly sold 200,000 Vision Pros during its first 10 days on the market. Sales gradually slowed down, and Apple is only expected to sell 200-250k more Vision Pros for the rest of the year. Kuo says 2025 doesn’t look much better, as Apple expects headset shipments to decline next year.
I
think
it’s
safe
to
say
the
Vision
Pro
is
in
a
flop
era.
The
launch
of
Apple’s
premiere
headset
was
exciting,
and
in
a
few
years,
Apple
will
release
the
V2
of
its
headset
which
will
probably
be
even
better.
But
for
now,
it’s
flopping,
so
get
used
to
negative
articles
on
Vision
Pro
sales
and
performance
(just
like
the
one
you’re
reading
now).
Kuo
says
Apple
is
reviewing
and
adjusting
its
“product
roadmap”
around
the
Vision
Pro,
and
says
there
might
not
be
a
new
version
until
after
2025.
Until
then,
we’re
all
stuck
with
the
original
Vision
Pro,
which
is
widely
found
to
be
expensive,
uncomfortable
to
wear,
and
lacking
in
key
applications
such
as
Netflix
and
Spotify.
As
the
initial
excitement
around
a
new
Apple
headset
wears
off,
the
reality
is
setting
in
that
most
people
have
little
reason
to
buy
an
imperfect
$3,500
headset.
This period has been somewhat expected. After all, mixed reality headsets are niche products, and even a behemoth such as Apple can’t immediately make them mainstream. However, Apple appears to be falling short of even its own expectations. Bloomberg reported Monday that some Apple retail stores sell just a handful of Vision Pros in an entire week.
The initial launch of Vision Pro gave a glimmer of hope for the future of spatial computing. Apple showcased its beautiful headset design and impressive eye-tracking technology. However, most people have no reason to buy this right now. This technology very well may be the future of computing, and I have no doubts Apple will innovate on its shortcomings. In the meantime, the headsets are flopping.
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