Apple's much ballyhooed AR/VR Vision Pro headset could be arriving in time for Valentine's Day.
A report from Bloomberg cites company manufacturers in reporting that the Apple headset is already being manufactured and is on pace for release in the early months of next year.
The report suggests that the Apple headset is already in the mass production state in factories in China. The reported timeline would have the first units arriving in late January and hitting full stride by February.
First introduced at the Apple World Wide Developer Conference in June of this year, the Vision Pro is Apple's entry into the augmented reality headset market. The high-end visor is primarily aimed at the enterprise and content creator spaces,
When introducing the headset, Apple CEO Tim Cook boasted that the Vision Pro would be a true augmented reality device where the field of vision in not blocked off but rather given additional imagery. Cook said of the headset "It's the first Apple product you look through, and not at."
Those wanting to own the Apple eyewear for recreational purposes might want to consider a second mortgage, however. Apple's starting price on the headset stands at around $3500.
The hefty price reflects what Apple sees as a still burgeoning market for augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) applications. The most likely audiences are going to be enterprise CAD firms and software developers serving businesses.
With hardware still being expensive and software developers only beginning to realize the potential of the VR market, the Cupertino software giant is still hedging its bets on developers who can expense the cost of one or two headsets and pilot software projects.
"Apple Vision Pro is the result of decades of experience designing high‑performance, mobile, and wearable devices — culminating in the most ambitious product Apple has ever created," the Cupertino software giant said of its latest project.
"Apple Vision Pro integrates incredibly advanced technology into an elegant, compact form, resulting in an amazing experience every time you put it on."
