Apple's Vision Pro Sparks Enthusiasm and Doubt

Eager customers lined up outside US Apple stores to nap the first Vision Pro headsets, a $3,499 device that is the tech giant's biggest release since the Apple Watch nine years ago.

Vision Pro's arrival from the world's most iconic device maker could be a milestone for lovers of virtual or augmented reality, who see the technology as the next chapter in online life after the smartphone.

With the high price, and the middling success of similar and cheaper releases from Facebook owner Meta, early reviews expressed doubt that the Vision Pro will be a game-changer, at least for now.

The Vision Pro is an "astonishing" product, wrote tech website The Verge, but "also represents a series of really big trade-offs" that are "impossible to ignore."

It is "an impressive product, one that has been many years and billions of dollars in the making," but "even after trying it, I still have no idea who or what this thing is supposed to be for," wrote The New York Times.

Critics acknowledge a definite "wow" factor, noting its state-of-the-art image quality and the joy of opening and closing apps floating in space using only your eyes and fingers.

However, the headset is heavy, messes up the user's hair and requires a clunky battery pack, they add.

Apple CEO Cook appeared at Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York to greet the first customers accompanied by the applause of staff.

"It's tomorrow's technology today. It's the way I think about it," Cook said about the steep prices.

"But over time, who knows what will happen. But we think we priced it for the right value today."

Cook had appeared earlier this week on the cover of Vanity Fair wearing the Vision Pro.

Apple refers to the Vision Pro as its first foray into "spatial computing," refusing the term virtual reality, which is associated with tech geeks and gamers.

In ads, users wear the Vision Pro to work or chat with friends or toggle through apps, and stream movies.

Apple says 600 specifically designed apps and games are available for the Vision Pro, alongside one million compatible apps.