Vision Pro sells out fast

And now we know a lot more about Apple's headset.

Author

Leander Kahney
January 19, 2024

I can’t function without sleep, so I was hoping to not set an early alarm this morning, get a full eight hours, and by some miracle, there’d still be Vision Pros to order at about 7 a.m. PST when I wake up naturally. (I live in San Francisco, and yeah, indulge in wishful thinking.)

Instead, I woke at 4 a.m. and, bleary-eyed, drank tea until Apple’s store came back online.

At 5 a.m., I was using my iPhone to scan my big potato head and desperately mashing buttons as I watched shipping dates flash by like a mad ticker tape.

For some reason, my preorder kept glitching and I ended up with four Vision Pros in my shopping bag, but I was unable to check out. I fiddled with it for an hour before giving up. By this time, ship dates had slipped till March.

Then, at about 10 a.m., I was playing around with Apple’s online store when I noticed that the 500GB model was available to pick up on launch day at a local store! Order placed and Apple Card maxed out!

So it appears that, like almost all Apple products, Vision Pro will be a hit, despite the insane $3,499 price tag. If you’re not convinced, just check Apple’s new “guided tour” video, which makes a compelling case but suspiciously skips over any work demos.

Also don’t miss the amazing making-of video, which shows lots of automated machines cranking out headsets, no sweatshop in sight. It shows the awesome complexity of the headset and its manufacturing process. No wonder Vision Pro is so expensive.

Also in today’s newsletter:

  • With the preorders, Vision Pro’s weight has been revealed for the first time. A weight comparison shows it may not crick your neck after all.

  • Guess how much it costs if you trick out a Vision Pro with the maximum storage and all the accessories Apple recommends at checkout? TBH, I thought it’d be more.

  • KEF just put out a less-pricey version of its killer LSX II wireless hi-fi speakers.

  • I’m paying a small fortune for iCloud storage through Apple. Prism Drive is offering 20TB for life for about what I pay for a couple of months.

  • There are already some funny memes about the Vision Pro. See the tweet section below.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

Too late: Apple Vision Pro preorders sell out fast [Updated]

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Apple Vision Pro’s weight doesn't sound like a neck-breaker

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Secure iCloud alternative gives you 20TB for one-time fee of $90

This deal on Prism Drive gives you a very inexpensive way to acquire secure cloud storage for life.

‘Making Apple Vision Pro’ video will mesmerize you

Apple's new video shows the complex manufacturing process behind making the Vision Pro headset. It's enchanting!

New video makes Vision Pro look fun, conveniently skips the work part

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New version of stellar KEF AirPlay speakers comes at lower cost

Ready to up your wireless speaker game? KEF just put out a less-pricey version of its great-sounding LSX II boxes.

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Tweetz o’ the day

One more thing ...

❝

The problem was that Xerox had never made a commercial computer. This group of people at Xerox was … more concerned with looking out 15 years than they were looking out 15 months trying to make a product that somebody could use. So there were a lot of issues that they hadn’t solved, like menus, other things like that. And at Apple, what we had to do was to do two things. One was complete the research, which really was only about 50% complete. And the second was to find a way to implement it at a low enough cost where people would buy it. And that was really our challenge.

— Steve Jobs, 1990.

Today’s poll

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