According to the news, Apple is preparing to sell Vision Pro outside the United States, with China, France, Germany and Japan as the first batch of countries

Tencent Technology

2024-05-14 00:44Posted on the official account of Beijing Tencent News Technology Channel

Tencent Technology News reported on May 14 that according to foreign media reports, people familiar with the matter revealed on Monday that Apple is ready to start selling the mixed reality headset Vision Pro outside the United States to test whether the device, which costs $3,499, has wider appeal. The Vision Pro may expand to China, Japan, France and Germany.

Hundreds of international retail store employees from China, Australia, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea and Singapore flew to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, last week for a four-day in-person training on how to demonstrate the Vision Pro to customers, according to people familiar with the matter.

In early February, before Apple began shipping the Vision Pro in the U.S., the company also trained U.S. retail store employees at its headquarters on how to demonstrate and answer questions from customers.

The exact launch date of the Vision Pro in the international market has not yet been announced, but it is expected to expand to other countries after this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). This year's Worldwide Developers Conference will take place June 10-14.

Apple has previously said that the company will start selling the Vision Pro outside the U.S. market by the end of the year. The company's chief executive, Tim Cook, specifically pointed out that the Vision Pro will be launched in the Chinese market this year.

Well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously said that Vision Pro will enter more markets before this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, but judging from the current situation, the Vision Pro's entry into the international market may be delayed until after the developer conference.

The response to the Vision Pro after its launch in the United States was not strong. According to reports, Apple has lowered its Vision Pro shipment forecast to 400,000-450,000 units in 2024, far below Wall Street's expectation of 700,000-800,000 units.

Apple's decision to cut orders before the release of the Vision Pro in overseas markets shows that the demand for the Vision Pro in the US market is far less than expected, leading Apple to take a more conservative view of the demand in overseas markets.

While entering the international market will make the Vision Pro make waves in the market again, the $3,499 price tag will scare off the vast majority of fans.

Given the current situation, Apple is also reviewing its product roadmap and may not launch a new Vision Pro in 2025. Wall Street had previously predicted that Apple would launch the second-generation Vision Pro in the second half of 2025. (Compilation/Mowgli)

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