Apple’s new mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, hit the market February 2nd. The company’s first new product category in nearly a decade, the Vision Pro kicks off a new era of computing for Apple. But a hefty price tag coupled with the fact that the AR/VR space is still an unproven market, mean that Apple is fighting an uphill battle out of the gate.

Here are three things you need to know about the Vision Pro.

1. The price tag.

The Vision Pro starts at $3,499, far more expensive than rival Meta’s priciest headset: the Meta Quest Pro, which costs $999. That price tag will likely prove to be too rich for even Apple’s most ardent fans, especially given the AR/VR industry’s relatively niche position in the consumer tech space.

Apple is advertising the Vision Pro as a “spatial computer,” rather than a simple headset. You’ll use it for watching movies, playing games, and, importantly, productivity apps, since it can mirror your MacBook’s screen and display it as a massive window floating in space directly in front of you. Whether that’s worth the price of entry is up to Apple’s legion of customers.

1. The experience

I used Apple’s Vision Pro headset immediately after the company debuted it at its WWDC in June 2023 and again just ahead of its launch, and everything you’ve heard about it being a mind-blowing experience is spot on. The incredibly high resolution, microOLED display is world’s sharper than any other headset I’ve used, making images and videos appear crisp and colorful, and ensuring you can easily read text. The interface is wildly easy to navigate thanks to eye and hand tracking cameras, and the fit is surprisingly comfortable. Though there is a separate corded battery that you’ll need to put on your desk or slide into your pocket.

But Apple also needs to ensure it has the app ecosystem to match. So far, the company says it has a vast library of apps, including versions of its iPad apps. But the tech giant will also need developers to dream up apps uniquely designed for the Vision Pro if Apple is going to get people to stick around past the honeymoon phase.

1. What does this mean for Apple?

The Vision Pro is Apple’s first new product category since it first unveiled the Apple Watch in 2014. And while the watch landed at a time when smartwatches and fitness trackers were already gaining steam among consumers, the Vision Pro comes at a time when headsets still make up an incredibly small number of consumer tech sales.

Apple is also going up against Meta’s Quest line of products, which Counterpoint Research says made up 49% of the AR/VR headset market in Q3 2023.

If Apple can get consumers to look beyond the Vision Pro’s price and convince its army of developers to build new, fascinating apps for the headset, it could be the company’s next smash hit.

Stay tuned to Yahoo Finance to see if Apple can pull it off.

Video Transcript

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- Apple's new mixed reality headset the Vision Pro hit the market February 2nd. The company's first new product category in nearly a decade, the Vision Pro kicks off a new era of computing for Apple. But a hefty price tag coupled with the fact that the AR/VR space is still an unproven market mean that Apple is fighting an uphill battle out of the gate. Here are three things you need to know about the Vision Pro.

Number one, the price tag. The Vision Pro starts at $3,499. That's far more expensive than rival Meta's priciest headset, the Meta Quest Pro, which costs $999. That price will likely prove to be too rich for even Apple's most ardent fans, especially given the AR and VR industry's relatively niche position in the consumer tech space.

Apple is advertising the Vision Pro as a spatial computer rather than a simple headset. You'll use it for watching movies, playing games, and importantly, productivity apps since it can mirror your MacBook's screen and display it as a massive window floating in space directly in front of you. Whether that's worth the price of entry is up to Apple's legion of customers.

Number two, the experience. I used Apple's Vision Pro headset immediately after the company debuted it at WWDC in June 2023 and again, just ahead of its launch. And everything you've heard about it being a mind-blowing experience is spot on. The incredibly high-resolution micro OLED display is world's sharper than any other headset I've used, making images and videos appear crisp and colorful and ensuring you can easily read text.

The interface is wildly easy to navigate, thanks to eye-and-hand tracking cameras. And the fit is surprisingly comfortable. Though there is a separate corded battery that you'll need to put on your desk or slide into your pocket. Of course, Apple also needs to ensure it has the app ecosystem to match. So far the company says it has a vast library of apps, including versions of its iPad apps. But the tech giant will also need developers to dream up apps uniquely designed for the Vision Pro if Apple is going to get people to stick around past the honeymoon phase.

Number three, what does this mean for Apple? The Vision Pro is Apple's first new product category since it first unveiled the Apple Watch in 2014. And while the watch landed at a time when smartwatches and fitness trackers were already gaining steam among consumers, the Vision Pro comes at a time when headsets still make up an incredibly small number of consumer tech sales. Apple is also going up against Meta's quest line of products, which Counterpoint Research says made up 49% of the AR/VR headset market in Q3 2023.

If Apple can get consumers to look beyond the Vision Pro's price and convince its army of developers to build new fascinating apps for the headset, it could be the company's next smash hit. Stay tuned to Yahoo Finance to see if Apple can pull it off.