Apple Vision Pro will be available to consumers in multiple Apple stores across the United States starting on February 2. While consumers might expect the appointment time to purchase the $3,499 hardware to be a little long, the process is likely to be a lot longer than initially thought. Apple users who want to buy Apple Vision Pro may need to go through a lengthy sales process, including a 25-minute in-store demonstration to learn how to use the headset.
Mark Gurman wrote in Bloomberg's "PowerOn" newsletter on Sunday that Apple has prepared a full set of headset demonstrations for consumers, and the entire process takes up to 25 minutes. Earlier in January, Apple taught the process to some store employees in Cupertino, who later returned to their respective stores to teach their colleagues.
More than a dozen demo devices will be provided in Apple's largest stores to cope with the volume of Apple VisionPro reservations.
Before the demonstration, staff will use an app to scan a user's face in a manner similar to setting up FaceID. The app tells employees the sizes of light seals, foam padding and headgear to match the customer's head and face.
If the user wears glasses, the device will also scan them so that the appropriate power lenses can be placed into the headset. Once the information is gathered, it is provided to staff in the background who assemble the demonstration equipment.
Employees will then explain to customers how to interact with the user interface, including using eye detection and gestures to select items, how to hold the headset, adjust the wearing dial and use the digital crown. Throughout the demonstration, employees will use iPads to view the user's view.
After a calibration phase of tracking and clicking exercises, the 20 to 25 minute demo will really begin.
During the demo, users will open the Photos app and begin viewing space photos and space videos. Subsequent demonstrations will show how Apple Vision Pro can serve as a Mac or iPad replacement, including positioning multiple app windows in 3D space and scrolling web pages in Safari.
A series of 3D and immersive movies will then be played, from wildlife footage and ocean scenes to sports and tightrope walking scenes, and the headsets in the store will also come pre-installed with third-party apps, allowing people to experience more of the headset’s capabilities.
The actual process of purchasing the headset is different. After the face is scanned, retail employees box the correct elements at the point of sale.
While customers will be asked to try out the headset in-store, they can still purchase Apple Vision Pro online. A version of the facial scanning system will be made available to online customers before the headsets ship.
In addition to the demo area, there will be a dedicated VisionPro demo station available for viewing, but not available for use, where two to four devices will be displayed.
The intensive demo may be the prudent approach Apple can take in launching this important new product and platform. It's also a high-stakes moment for Apple as it looks to make the launch of Apple Vision Pro as successful as possible due to the price tag and the fact that this may be the first time many users have used a virtual reality or MR headset.