Apple has officially confirmed that its pricy Vision Pro headset will launch in the US on February 2, with preorders opening on January 19. Compared to other virtual reality headsets on the market, the Vision Pro is a much more expensive alternative with an MSRP of $3,499, a price tag equivalent to purchasing seven Meta Quest 3 128GB headsets. Or around five of the 512GB models, leaving you just enough cash to cater for a fun VR party.
Internally, the Vision Pro has two Apple chips–an M2 Ultra and an R1 chip–as well as sensors, cameras, and a 4K display for each eye. The other big difference with this headset when compared to other models is that it offers both virtual and augmented reality experiences when you toggle the side-mounted switch.
You won’t need to use a controller to navigate through apps, as voice and gesture commands are also supported. There’s also a neat external display called EyeSight that produces a render of your eyes so that you won’t have to remove the headset when you talk to non-VR people.
The headset uses Apple’s VisionOS operating system, and it can run games, apps, and videos with a 3D effect recorded with the iPhone 15 Pro. It can run in both tethered and untethered modes, and for people with specific vision requirements, Zeiss Optical Inserts will be available starting at $99 per set.
If $3,500 is too rich for your blood, a more affordable Vision Pro is rumored to launch after the main model debuts. According to The Verge, Apple might ditch the external display, use lower-resolution screens, and an iPhone-grade chip to drop its price down to $1,500.
