Apple faithful lined up at its US stores on Friday (Feb 2) to pick up the first Vision Pro headsets, ushering in what the company calls “the era of spatial computing”. 

Chief executive Tim Cook appeared at Apple’s flagship Manhattan store on Fifth Avenue to commemorate the launch, greeting modest crowds. At the company’s location at the Grove shopping mall in Los Angeles, clapping Apple employees welcomed in the day’s first customers. 

The Vision Pro vaults Apple into its first major new product category since 2015: a US$3,499 headset that melds virtual and augmented reality. It’s been a relatively niche market until now, with Meta Platforms dominating the industry. But Apple hopes to use cutting-edge technology – and the company’s famous marketing muscle – to turn it into something bigger.

At Apple’s New York store, Cook said customers may be most impressed by the device’s interface – what he called “the magical way you control it”. The Vision Pro relies on eye movement and hand gestures to navigate users through immersive experiences.

“It works the way the mind works,” he told Bloomberg Television’s Caroline Hyde. “People put it on and they instantly know how to use it.”

The launch was a more subdued affair than the initial rollout of the iPhone and other new devices. When Apple’s phone first went on sale in 2007, customers swarmed stores from New York to San Francisco, desperate to get their hands on one. Friday’s debut drew a relatively small mix of customers either looking to buy the device or just try it out.

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Still, Cook compares the Vision Pro debut to the birth of Apple’s other iconic devices, including the Mac, iPod and iPhone, saying it “joins the pantheon of groundbreaking products”.

“Apple Vision Pro brings together thousands of innovations to create a product that’s like nothing the world has ever seen before,” he said in a memo to staff following the launch. “It’s an extraordinary achievement, and as so many of you can attest, it has been years in the making.”

The Vision Pro has a more elaborate sales process than any previous Apple product. It includes 20 to 25-minute product demos that show 3D video and apps in mixed reality. At the company’s largest US stores, Apple rolled out circular seating arrangements and carpets to provide testers with a living room feel.

The launch followed a mixed earnings report from Apple late Thursday. Though iPhone sales were better than anticipated last quarter, the company is struggling in China. Chief financial officer Luca Maestri also signalled that sales in the current quarter won’t be as strong as some analysts had estimated.

For now, the Vision Pro won’t be a big driver of sales. Its shipments will be measured in the hundreds of thousands this year, compared with hundreds of millions for the iPhone. But it could turn Apple into the biggest player in the mixed-reality market. 

Analysts estimated that Apple sold roughly 180,000 Vision Pros during the Vision Pro’s preorder period, which began in mid-January. At US$3,499 a pop, that’s well over US$600 million in revenue.

“I think we’re going to do well,” Cook said in New York after being asked about sales. “I think we’re doing well today.” BLOOMBERG