According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is getting ready to prepare in-store staff on how to sell the company’s upcoming Vision Pro mixed reality headset. Training is reportedly slated to take place in mid-January, with launch said to be internally expected to take place the same month.
Unveiled at WWDC in June, Apple has repeatedly confirmed that the long-awaited mixed reality headset will release in “early 2024,” although there’s been no mention of specific launch date yet.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that staff training is being scheduled for mid-January, which would see select employees travel to the company’s Cupertino headquarters for a two-day seminar.
The report maintains that Vision Pro’s setup process will be complex, requiring customization for each user. Additionally, unnamed sources informed Gurman that while customers will be able to reserve Vision Pro online, the company may be pushing in-store pickup to help guide customers through the process.
Considering the ‘pro’ price tag of $3,500, it makes sense Apple will be taking every precaution to make sure customers don’t make some of the mistakes new VR users typically face. Things like getting a snug (but not ‘too snug’) fit for long-term use and getting the headset’s lenses into what is called the ‘sweet spot’ where the display is most clear are all important when trying on a headset for the first time, Apple Vision Pro included.
Meanwhile, Apple is quietly preparing developers to create apps for Vision Pro by letting them go hands-on with hardware, having opened so-called ‘Developer Lab’ locations in Cupertino, London, Munich, Shanghai, Tokyo, New York City, Sydney and Singapore.
Despite some early access to hardware, getting a critical mass of developers to stock the App Store with MR content will undoubtedly be a long and iterative process, as the company still has a ways to go before it can introduce a cheaper, more consumer-friendly headset that packs in all of the goodness we saw in our hands-on with Vision Pro back in June.
