Apple Vision Pro: Prepping for February Launch After Warehouse Arrival

Mark Gurman of Bloomberg News reports that Apple’s virtual reality headset, Vision Pro, unveiled last year, has commenced distribution to warehouses across the United States, with plans to deliver to Apple’s retail stores nationwide by February. Additionally, in response to the patent dispute with Masimo, Apple aims to permanently lift the sales ban on the Apple Watch at a court hearing in the U.S. on January 15th.

Apple is expected to announce the market release of Vision Pro soon, endeavoring to resolve the Apple Watch sales ban issue. Vision Pro is poised for a February launch in the U.S. market.

According to Gurman, Apple may soon announce the launch of Vision Pro and, as previously disclosed, aims to release it in the market as early as this spring, potentially in February.

Apple has made extensive preparations for Vision Pro and plans to conduct a week-long training session for Apple Store employees in January, enabling them to adeptly introduce Vision Pro to consumers or assist them in experiencing the wearable device.

Beyond the U.S. market, Apple anticipates bringing Vision Pro to additional markets in the second half of 2024, including potential launches in China, the UK, and Canada.

Regarding the recent infringement allegations by Masimo leading to a sales ban on Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 in the U.S., Apple temporarily resumed sales of the banned products until January 10th, following court approval to delay the execution of the U.S. International Trade Commission’s order. Apple plans to circumvent Masimo’s infringement claims through a software update, aiming to completely resolve the sales ban issue by January 12th.

However, Masimo CEO Joe Kiani stated that their patents encompass both software and hardware design elements, implying that Apple’s software update may not fully circumvent the infringement issues.