Given its dramatic arrival into the front row of the XR space, it is easy to forget that Apple‘s Vision Pro has been public knowledge for just barely two months.
Its reveal has prompted oceans of excitement, fascination — and, inevitably, some scepticism. Apple’s quarterly earnings call this week was not only the first since the Vision Pro’s announcement but an opportunity for Apple to distribute further information about the coveted product.
Here’s what Apple CEO Tim Cook had to say about the Vision Pro this week.
Apple Hitting the Accelerator on the Hype Train
As Apple’s first earnings call since the Vision Pro’s announcement, it was only natural for Cook to wax lyrical about Apple’s latest epoch-defining product in his introductory comments.
“We were so pleased to share the revolutionary Apple Vision Pro with the world, a bold new product unlike anything else created before,” Cook said.
Apple Vision Pro is a marvel of engineering, built on decades of innovation only possible at Apple. It is the most advanced personal electronic device ever created, and we’ve been thrilled by the reaction from the press, analysts, developers and content creators who’ve had the chance to try it. We can’t wait to get it into customers’ hands early next year.”
Could there be some slight hyperbole in those comments? Potentially. Are Cook’s enthusiasm and earnestness compelling and infectious regardless? Absolutely. Apple market their products almost peerlessly well, and the Vision Pro is no different — but they also consistently deliver on the technology itself. Anticipation for the Vision Pro will only build.
It’s also notable that Cook reiterated Apple’s position that the Vision Pro will launch in early 2024. In July, news broke that Apple had to make cuts to production forecasts for the Vision Pro because of the complexity of design and production difficulties. However, in its earnings call, Apple seems intent on reaffirming that launch date despite these purported supply chain problems.
- Apple Vision Pro: Specification Breakdown
- Will the Apple Vision Pro Change the XR Training industry?
An Update on the Vision Pro’s Logistics — But Some Caution Around Revenue Forecasting
Cook asserting his confidence in the Vision Pro arriving in early 2024 wasn’t the only logistics update provided by the earnings call, with Cook stating that units are shipping to developers for them to start building their apps around the headset.
Cook offered up several tidbits of information after Sidney Ho, an Equity Research Analyst at Deutsche Bank, asked about revenue ramp related to the Vision Pro: “Are there any catalysts that we should be thinking about that will drive an inflexion of that product?”
“There’s enormous excitement around the Vision Pro. We’re excited internally,” Cook responded. “Everybody that’s been through the demos is blown away, whether you’re talking about press, analysts, or developers. We are now shipping units to the developer community for them to begin working on their apps. And we’re looking forward to shipping early next year. And so we could not be more excited about that. I’m using the product daily.”
However, Cook (perhaps shrewdly) avoided estimating the commercial success of the Vision Pro’s launch next year: “So we’re not going to forecast revenues and so forth on the call today, but we’re very excited about it.”
Given its high price point ($3,500), a cost of living crisis affecting consumers and businesses alike, Apple’s supposed supply chain issues, and a volatile global market impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the global energy crisis, it’s difficult to predict just how commercially successful the Vision Pro will be upon its launch, despite the remarkable technology behind it.
Apple is Apple, however, and the most momentous Apple launch since the iPhone could galvanise a fanbase and industry beyond even the most optimistic forecasts.
How Vision Pro Can Energise Apple’s Retail Stores
Cook was asked about Apple’s traditionally enormous retail footprint and how extensively foot traffic had been sustained post-pandemic. Cook highlighted the “competitive advantage” that a groundbreaking product like the Vision Pro provides them with to attract significant retail foot traffic.
“If you look at retail, it’s a key part of our go-to-market approach,” Cook outlined.
It will be so key and such a competitive advantage with Vision Pro. It will give us the opportunity to launch a new product and demo to many people in the stores, and so it has many advantages in it.”
Consumers will be determined, if not outright desperate, to demo the Vision Pro in person, empowering Apple to not only consolidate the volume of its retail stores but take advantage of the Vision Pro’s innovation as a critical facilitator for potential retail growth, especially in markets without Apple stores.
“We continue to roll out more stores,” Cook continued. “As you know, we just opened two in India last quarter. There are still a lot of countries out there that don’t have Apple stores that we would like to go into, and so we continue to see it as a key part of how we go to market and love the experience that we can provide customers there.”
