Apple Vision Pro: Mark Gurman captures the mixed consumer reactions

While the Apple Vision Pro could work as an iPad alternative but for some tasks, it’s not quite ready to replace your iPhone yet.

Mark Gurman, chief correspondent, Bloomberg, tracks almost all things Apple. In his latest Power On newsletter report, Gurman offers his initial take on the Apple Vision Pro. Billed as Apple’s most significant launch since the iPhone, the Vision Pro went on sale on February 2 in the US. Gurman believes that Apple Inc. is at least 18 months away from launching the second-gen Vision Pro and that may be too long for early adopters to wait to check out Apple’s ‘peek’ into the future.

Apple Vision Pro Environments.

The timing of Gurman’s column is significant. Last week, the two-week return period expired for the first Vision Pro purchases. Gurman believes that a significant number of people had turned in their headsets. According to him, data from sources at retail stores suggests that it’s likely somewhere between average and above average compared with other products — depending on the location. Some smaller stores are seeing one or two returns per day, but larger locations have seen as many as over eight take-backs in a single day.

Apple Vision Pro.

While Gurman believes that the Vision Pro could work as an iPad alternative but for some tasks, it’s not quite ready to replace your iPhone yet. Gurman sums up customer feedback and concerns around the Vision Pro. According to him, some of these concerns include the heft of the device, battery life and the overall performance of the Vision OS operating system.

Gurman adds that Apple is keen on understanding customer feedback. According to him, retail staff members have been instructed to glean feedback from customers and report these concerns back to the Apple HQ in Cupertino. Gurman isn’t writing off the Vision Pro despite its hefty ($3,500) price tag and initial customer concerns. He believes that the Vision Pro represents a peek into the future, but that future hasn’t arrived yet. Apple is betting big on its vision for spatial computing and with other products such as the iPhone, we could see the customer experience improve with time.

Apple Vision Pro.