The Apple Hybrid Reality (MR) headset Vision Pro will be released in the United States on February 2nd local time. But Apple's official channels in China show that Vision Pro is currently not available for sale.
"It is estimated that there will be no (spot) in the next six months." On January 30, the clerk of the Apple Store in Shenzhen told Time Finance that Vision Pro is only sold in the United States for the time being, and other regions need to wait until the sales cover the Chinese Mainland before there will be a prototype in the store.
Time Finance also confirmed with Apple's official customer service that on February 2, the official channel in Chinese Mainland was not available, and the specific launch time was uncertain.
At present, the latest news about Vision Pro in the US market mainly comes from the media and digital bloggers. At present, the product functions and effects are basically consistent with Apple's promotion, but the weight, endurance, and virtual role functions have been roast to varying degrees.
In the Chinese market, the latest situation is the transactions between agents, resellers, and sellers, and more businesses are watching.
Premium in tens of thousands of yuan, with a bid price of 88888 yuan
According to Apple's official website, there are three versions of Vision Pro, with the entry-level 256GB version priced at $3499 (approximately RMB 25000); The 512GB version is priced at $3699 (approximately RMB 26700), while the 1TB version is priced at $3899 (approximately RMB 28000).
Although the official channel of Apple in China, Vision Pro, has not yet been sold, there are many buyers and resellers of Vision Pro in other related channels. Some sellers are asking for a 1TB version for 88888 yuan, which is more than three times the original price.
Times Finance consulted on a certain online trading platform about the 512GB version of Vision Pro, and two sellers offered a price of over 40000 yuan, with a premium of around 20000 yuan. Some sellers indicated that they had already made a deal.
"If you bring back two sets of human flesh, please contact us. The first batch of goods can be picked up on February 4th." One of the sellers said that after successful pickup, their friend will immediately ship the Vision Pro from the United States to China for face-to-face transactions, with one paying and the other delivering.
He set a public quotation of approximately 35000 yuan on the online trading platform, and during a one-on-one private conversation with Time Finance, his quotation was 48000 yuan. Another seller's public offer was 33000 yuan, which rose to 44000 yuan during a private chat. The platform page showed that 34 people wanted his Vision Pro.
According to foreign media reports, Apple has pre-sales more than 200000 Vision Pro head displays in the United States. Previously, Taiwan, China media reported that the initial shipment of Vision Pro is expected to be less than 400000. If the reports from the two media outlets are true, Apple's Vision Pro inventory is running low.
Huaqiangbei merchants are watching and waiting for official release
Shenzhen Huaqiangbei is the "Number One Electronic Street in China". Recently, Time Finance visited Manha Digital Plaza and Yuanwang Digital Mall in Huaqiangbei, where a large number of merchants who rely on Apple products for survival gathered. From the communication, it can be seen that many of them are also closely following the news of Vision Pro.
As far as a merchant knows, there is no Vision Pro available in the Huaqiangbei market yet, as there is no stock of Vision Pro available even in the US market. However, he predicts that the stock will appear in Huaqiangbei about a week after the release of Vision Pro, mainly based on purchase and transportation time.
"I don't know how to stir fry the price at that time. The price will definitely be higher when it comes out, and I (now) dare not tell you how much it will be. It will definitely be more expensive than the official website," said the merchant mentioned above.
However, unlike online purchasing platforms, Time Finance has inquired with many merchants in Huaqiangbei, but has not found any specialized merchants for purchasing or reselling Vision Pro. Their attitudes towards the future market performance of Apple Vision Pro vary.
Some merchants say that Vision Pro technology has made significant breakthroughs and production capacity is insufficient. Some purchasing agents have already inflated the price to over 70000 yuan, which is not affordable for ordinary people. Many people buy it for research or evaluation.
"The price of this depends on whether there is a market, whether there is a buyer, and if there is a buyer, then we will do it." He said that he has not yet determined whether to do Vision Pro business in the future. It depends on the market situation, and if the customer needs it, he can look for resources.
During the conversation with Time Finance, some merchants were not very optimistic, believing that the Vision Pro was too expensive and would depreciate like the iPhone 15 series.
In addition, on e-commerce platforms, there are merchants promoting products from Huaqiangbei, which are "Vision Pro domestically produced flat replacements", with a promotional price of less than 1600 yuan. However, Time Finance has not seen Vision Pro replacement products in Huaqiangbei.
MR and XR usher in a new trend?
From an industrial perspective, Apple Vision Pro has clearly driven attention and investment in MR and XR products from all parties.
At this year's CES (International Consumer Electronics Exhibition), manufacturers such as Sony and Thunderbird made their debut in XR products aimed at end users, Samsung showcased a brand new screen for XR headsets, and Qualcomm recently applied for a project called "Wearable Ring Devices and User Interface Processing" to implement Extended Reality (XR) functionality.
In China, listed companies such as Yidao Information, Skyworth Digital, Insa Group, Sai Microelectronics, and Hengxin Oriental have recently responded to questions from relevant investors, stating that they have layout or related capabilities in XR or MR.
"After reading around the media reviews of Vision Pro and considering feedback from friends who have experienced it on real machines around me, my idea is to lower the short-term experience expectations (not so impressive), but to prioritize long-term ecological development (which can be impressive). New platforms, new scenarios, and new opportunities." This is a review posted by OPPO software product manager Zhu Haizhou on his personal Weibo account.
According to a research report released by Guotai Junan, MR has opened up new scenarios and created a new trend in content ecosystem reconstruction. With the maturity of MR devices, the combination of lightweight MR devices and AI will become more seamless, and the new ecosystem will bring another explosion of the content industry. (Our reporter Guo Meiting also contributed to this article)