Apple fans lined up at App Stores across the US on February 3 to buy the Vision Pro headset. CEO Tim Cook appeared at the Manhattan store on Fifth Avenue to celebrate and greet the crowd. At the Apple Store in the Grove shopping centre in Los Angeles, Apple employees applauded the first customers of the day.

The Vision Pro is Apple’s first new product category since 2015: a $3,499 headset that combines virtual and augmented reality. Until now, it’s been a relatively niche market, dominated by Meta Platforms. But Apple hopes to use its cutting-edge technology—and its famous marketing muscle—to turn it into something bigger.

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CEO Tim Cook (wearing glasses, standing in the middle) at the Apple Store New York on the day Vision Pro launched. (Photo: X)

At the Apple Store in New York, CEO Cook said customers were likely most impressed with the device’s interface, which he called “the magical way you control it.” The Vision Pro relies on eye movements and hand gestures to guide users through the immersive experience.

It works the way the mind works, he told Bloomberg Television. “People put it on and immediately know how to use it.”

The Vision Pro’s launch was not as spectacular as the iPhone and other devices. When the iPhone first launched in 2007, customers lined up at Apple Stores from New York to San Francisco, desperate to get one. The Vision Pro’s launch event, on the other hand, attracted a smaller crowd of buyers and testers.

Still, Cook compared the Vision Pro to other iconic Apple devices, including the Mac, iPod, and iPhone, saying it would "join the pantheon of groundbreaking products."

“Apple Vision Pro brings together thousands of innovations to create a product the world has never seen before,” he said in a memo to employees after the launch. “It is an extraordinary achievement… and years in the making.”

Vision Pro has a more elaborate sales process than any Apple product before, including 20- to 25-minute product demos that show 3D videos and apps in mixed reality. In the company’s largest U.S. stores, Apple has arranged seating and circular rugs to give testers a living-room feel.

Apple reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2023 iPhone sales, but the company is struggling in China. CFO Luca Maestri also signaled that sales in the current quarter would not be as strong as some analysts had estimated.

For now, Vision Pro won’t be a huge sales driver—shipments are likely to be in the hundreds of thousands this year, compared with hundreds of millions for the iPhone. But it could make Apple the biggest player in the mixed reality market.

Analysts estimate Apple sold about 180,000 Vision Pro units during the pre-order period, which began in mid-January. At $3,499, the device generated more than $600 million in revenue.

“I think we’re going to do well,” Cook said in New York after being asked about sales. “I think we’re doing well today.”

(According to Bloomberg)