Why Early Buyers Are Pre-Ordering Apple's $3,500 Vision Pro: Nine Reasons

On the Friday morning the Vision Pro went up for pre-order on the Apple Store, Ben Thomas, an IT executive and photography enthusiast, bought the 512GB model. The price of the headset is $3,500. Thomas had recently tried Meta's Quest 3 and sent it back, and he told ZDNET's Jason Hiner he hoped Apple had finally delivered the quality he had been waiting for.

Hiner had been surprised by how many people in tech planned to pre-order, or were at least considering it, once Apple announced the release date. He asked them why they wanted to spend that much on a computer worn like a visor, and he sorted their answers into nine reasons.

The first is a belief in where computing is heading. Kevin O'Donovan, who runs an agency advising tech companies, said he thinks immersive experiences are a key part of the future, with or without a headset. He does not see the Vision Pro as the answer, and he said the same of the Quest 3, the Varjo XR4 and Sony's new headset, though he thinks each has a sweet spot. He is pre-ordering because he likes to try technology himself before forming a view.

The second is eye tracking. Nelson Karrick, a network engineer, plans to order as soon as the store goes live Friday. He thinks Apple's approach could spread to traditional computing, where looking at a screen might feel more natural than a mouse or trackpad. He also pointed to people with disabilities who struggle with a conventional pointer.

The third is spatial photo and video. Thomas said he has bought or experimented with many 360-degree VR and 180-degree 3D products over five years and has so far been disappointed. He is most excited about virtual travel and about capturing 3D memories of family members before it is too late.

The next several reasons are more personal. Mark McChesney, an IT leader, calls himself an early adopter and says he bought the first iPhone in Washington, DC, while on a family vacation. He plans to order Friday, and his friends rely on him for tech advice. He thinks the Vision Pro could be an inflection point for learning and entertainment. Michael Peters, a sales executive who advises AR/VR companies, still wants one but worries that few units will be available at launch and that improvements are reportedly in the works.

Developers have their own motive. Todd Heberlein, a software developer and cybersecurity expert, has released a few AR/VR apps for iOS and built many more that never shipped. At WWDC 2022, he said, Apple recommended that AR/VR experiences last only one to two minutes, and he paused his work because his ideas did not fit. He calls visionOS the first new Apple platform for developers since the App Store was announced in 2008, and he is pre-ordering so he can resume those projects.

Productivity is the open question. At WWDC last June, Apple stressed professionals using the headset as their computer, at an office desk or in a hotel room. Hiner notes that none of the demos given to journalists, analysts and developers have shown those features. Thomas is curious about work uses, and McChesney imagines creative editing, email, messaging, video calls and streaming. O'Donovan wonders whether an iPad-style moment will arrive in business, with executives trying the device and asking to use it in their day jobs.

The last reason is nostalgia. Karrick said that whether the product flops or succeeds, people will likely seek out first-generation units as collectors' items in ten years, though he ranks it as the least of his reasons.

What to watch now is whether launch-day use shows the work scenarios Apple promised at WWDC, and whether eye tracking moves beyond the headset.