Apple prepping big move with its Vision Pro headset

By Trevor Mogg May 13, 2024

The front visor of the Vision Pro on display at an Apple Store. — Luke Larsen / Digital Trends

Since Apple launched the Vision Pro headset in February, the device has only been on sale in the U.S. But that looks set to change soon. The tech giant is now training staff from overseas Apple Stores on how to present the mixed-reality Vision Pro headset to customers, according to prominent Apple tipster Mark Gurman.

In a report on Bloomberg on Monday, Gurman claimed that “in recent days” Apple has started to hold training sessions at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, for “hundreds” of workers from its internationals retail stores. The training sessions reportedly lasts for up to four days, and give Apple Store staff an overview of the company’s most important device in years and tips on how to show it off to customers, especially during the all-important one-to-one demonstration sessions.

Gurman’s unnamed sources suggested that the Vision Pro headset will start selling in stores overseas following Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next month.

“The company is training workers from Germany, France, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and China, indicating that those areas will be some of the first international markets for the device,” the Bloomberg reporter said, adding that while the company has given little away about its plans for the Vision Pro’s international launch, it has previously said that it would start selling it overseas later in 2024, with China confirmed as one of the new markets.

After a hype-filled launch earlier this year, interest in the $3,499 headset appears to have trailed off, so it would make sense for Apple to start pushing the headset in new markets in the coming months. Such a move could provoke renewed curiosity in the Vision Pro among potential buyers, and also encourage developers to create new apps for the device. Apple will also be hoping that the launch of the second version of the visionOS operating system next month will improve the headset’s usability to make it a more compelling product.

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