Apple is still developing the Apple Vision Pro, and while the original plan was to release it in January, it now looks more likely that the headset will be available in March. Since its introduction at the 2023 WWDC conference, Apple has provided a fairly loose schedule for the release of Apple Vision Pro. While the company has always insisted that Vision Pro would be released in early 2024, it has never narrowed the time frame, and it seems that it may end up being released later in this period, rather than earlier.
Writing in the "PowerOn" newsletter for Bloomberg, Mark Gurman said Apple is still working on important tasks related to the headset. Final device testing is underway, but Apple is said to still be working on hardware distribution plans.
Apple Vision Pro should have very limited distribution, launching first in the United States and then gradually rolling out to other countries.
The headset won't be available through third-party retailers as Apple wants to maintain control over how the company rolls out new platforms. Instead, users need to make an appointment to purchase at an Apple store or online.
In addition, a logistics issue that needs to be considered is that because it is a fairly complex device that needs to be customized on demand, the supply chain needs to stock many SKUs to meet the different needs of the headband and lenses.
While the hardware is now targeting a March release, software engineers are still working toward a January release. Apple's latest visionOS developer beta includes a variety of hands-on assets that typically don't appear until later in the beta testing and development process.