Apple Vision Pro hasn’t exactly shaken up the mixed reality market, landing with a whimper instead of a bang in the US. Now, it seems as though hopes for international success are hampered by extraordinarily high return rates in China.
Pointing towards a Weibo post, Mycrow_sdog on X suggests around half of all headsets are refunded in the country. Since we don’t know how many sales Apple enjoys in China, it’s tough to estimate the impact. Still, a 50% return rate in such a large market is remarkably high.
It’s not entirely surprising, though. The device already sees a lot of returns in the US, which caused Apple to readjust its expected shipments from 700,000–800,000 units to 400,000-450,000.
Naturally, most fingers point towards the device’s exorbitant cost. At $3,499, it was always going to be out of reach for all but the most serious professionals. However, beyond cost, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo points out that it’s simply niche. Even if Apple’s solution hypothetically costs the same as its competitors, it has limited use cases.
Granted, Vision Pro does some things better than all its rivals. Its ability to position an unlimited number of freeform windows anywhere in your house trumps the competition. On the flip side, Meta Quest 3 does most things better while costing you around 85% less. It now handles up to six windows, albeit only three freeform, and has access to the exclusive Meta store, which appeals to gamers.
Things might change if Apple releases a budget Vision Pro. Instead of a sequel, the company is reportedly designing a value-focused variant that might cost between $1,000 and $1,500. If this proves true, Apple needs to do more than just cut costs, though. The company needs to give users a reason to spend so much on its solution. There’s no sign of when, so take these whispers with your usual grains of salt until an official announcement.