Survey: Consumers No-Go on Apple’s Vision Pro Headset — for Now

Earlier this month at its annual WWDC, Apple announced Vision Pro, its new mixed-reality headset, priced at $3,499, that will become available sometime in 2024. Apple CEO Tim Cook argued that the device stands at the threshold of the next major computing era of spatial computing, succeeding desktop and mobile.

Some have suggested the first version of the device that comes to market isn’t initially intended for casual users, or even a faction of high-income early adopters, but rather, developers who will build apps or experiences for the device to then be able to prove out its consumer value prop. Last week, Apple announced its visionOS software development kit (SDK) was available, allowing developers to start building.

The perception that Vision Pro isn’t a surefire consumer device, at least initially, is supported by the present obvious lack of interest, according to an exclusive VIP+ survey fielded by CivicScience. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of U.S. adults weren’t interested at all in purchasing Vision Pro when it goes on sale in 2024, compared with just 11% who were either extremely or somewhat interested.

Unsurprisingly, cost is the biggest bottleneck for Vision Pro, as it’s already been for existing VR headsets, with 67% saying they wouldn’t buy one because it’s too expensive. Rounding out the top three reasons, 29% felt they’d be able to use other devices for the same tasks, whether their phone, TV or laptop, while 21% still weren’t aware of its capabilities.

So, what will it take for Vision Pro to break through as an accessible or desirable consumer device? At first blush, it would seem the overall price will need to come down for general consumers to seriously consider buying Vision Pro. While that will likely need to happen for it to become a mass-market device, figuring out Vision Pro’s best fit and most compelling use cases and then developing for them will clarify its real value prop and expand the market of potential buyers.

So far, Vision Pro has confounded and underwhelmed some expectations. Given its high price point and the impressiveness of the tech, Apple had pretty nonrevolutionary suggestions for what to do with the device. Instead, Apple’s presentation primarily showcased the device’s ability to project 2D app interfaces into 3D virtual space.

Somehow, I’m not surprised that people aren’t interested in wearing a $3,500 headset to surf the web, look at personal photos and videos, join a video conference, make a FaceTime call or watch a movie.

While each of these uses may have some superior benefits in Vision Pro versus flat-screen devices — for example, watching a movie in a virtual theater with spatial audio and a “screen that feels 100 feet wide” or interacting with apps hands free — consuming or engaging with 2D media and communications can happen on flat screens easily, if not better. For most, the promised benefits aren’t compelling enough differences right now.

On the one hand, software Apple has planned wasn’t ready to present onstage. But it’s also likely many experiences haven’t yet been conceived or designed particularly for spatial computing devices or situations. Vision Pro’s defining capabilities and use cases may not be found, implemented and fully understood until developers build new experiences for the device — a process and ecosystem that’s likely to take years to develop, as it did with the iPhone.

Whatever the ultimate use cases that emerge and reify, Vision Pro will likely emphasize entertainment among them. For Vision Pro, however, gaming doesn’t look like the critical use case, in a key difference to the rest of the consumer VR market. While Vision Pro will have games through the Apple Arcade subscription service and any converted iOS apps, Vision Pro isn’t a gaming-first device, and gaming wasn’t close to being the centerpiece of its presentation at WWDC.

Besides gaming, VR headset owners are already compelled by a variety of uses and actually use the devices for more things than they originally intended at purchase. For example, while 28% bought their headset for video entertainment, 47% used it for that purpose, according to a survey by consulting firm Activate.

Given its lesser emphasis on gaming, Apple is likely to push narrative content for Vision Pro. With 4K video, spatial audio, Apple TV+ and Disney+, Apple made it clear video entertainment would be a central aspect of the device’s intended purpose, with Cook describing Vision Pro as a “personal movie theater” and Disney CEO Bob Iger calling it a “revolutionary platform” that would allow users to experience Disney IP in new ways.

Among the few consumers who do express early interest in buying Vision Pro, entertainment or immersive content experiences are the biggest draw at present.

Some have called Vision Pro a TV. Practically, Vision Pro — and extended reality devices categorically — could be considered additional screens, albeit ones that enable 3D-immersive visual experiences. Initially, TV and film viewing in Vision Pro will be enhanced by spatial experience features, but films themselves won’t be truly immersive — rather, 2D projections in 3D space.

Tech companies such as Meta and narrative VR startups have each in turn shifted their content emphasis to gaming over other forms of immersive entertainment. But Vision Pro’s arrival could reinvigorate production in narrative VR and immersive storytelling, particularly as the device itself offers unprecedented “stereoscopic” 3D video capture through the visionOS camera app.

VIP+ will be watching as Apple has promised more information and tools in the coming months. We also discuss these opportunities further in our latest deep-dive VIP+ special report “Getting Real About VR.”