The price of Apple Vision Pro is one of the most questioned aspects of the Cupertino company’s mixed reality viewer, and if you want its higher version and accessories, you will have to pay an amount close to $5,000. It will be a good investment for a few people; A luxury unattainable for most.

The Vision Pro is Apple’s big release for 2024 and the company’s first truly new product category in years. Officially unveiled last June, Apple has just opened the pre-order phase, and those lucky enough to buy it (there will only be 80,000 at launch) will start receiving it next 2nd February. Only in the United States for now.

Apple took advantage of the opening of the pre-order phase to update the headset’s specs page, further elaborating on its full specs. It also added different versions of the product based on internal storage capacity and introduced accessories that can be purchased with the Vision Pro.

We confirm that the prime mover is a Apple M2 SoC (made on 5nm processes, with eight-core CPU, ten-core GPU) and 16-core NPU, and coprocessor R1 designed specifically for this mixed reality viewer and supports the main one in receiving and processing signals from 12 cameras, 5 sensors and 6 built-in microphones. Unified memory (RAM) is 16 GB.

As for the screen, it is based on technology Micro-OLEDcan display up to 23 million pixels, supports 92% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and has a variable refresh rate of up to 100 Hz. For connectivity, it is compatible with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth, while in the audio part it includes headphones with surround sound, supposedly of good quality, since it is the implementation of Dolby Atmos from Apple. Its operating system is the announced visionOS, built specifically for this device.

Apple Vision Pro Award

Spectator price starts at $3,499 for the base version with 256 GB of storage capacity, according to the first testers, somewhat rare when it is filled with content. Apple fixed the problem by announcing two better versions:

• Vision Pro with 512GB: $3,699.
• Vision Pro with 1TB: $3,899.

We also know how much AppleCare Plus, Apple’s protection plan for accidental damage, which for a device as expensive as this and with unknown durability, seems essential. Added $499.

As regards Accessoriesa travel case for the Vision Pro (Apple doesn’t include one as standard) will cost $199, and a battery holder (if you don’t want to carry it in your pocket) will cost $50.

The Vision Pro’s autonomy is another of the least accomplished aspects, and it doesn’t change much in two hours. For many it will be necessary additional batteries which cost $199.

Finally, and since Apple’s browser doesn’t work with glasses, you’ll need to purchase them if you need them Zeiss lenses which were prepared for the occasion and which are priced at $99 and $149 for graduates.

Adding all of the above, with the 1TB version, the price of the Apple Vision Pro rises to $4,995. An “investment” in using a product that is promoted to “reinvent mixed reality”, which is undoubtedly the most advanced in its segment and the first truly new product category from Apple in many years.

Are you attracted to a headset, even if you can’t afford its high price? The guys at ZDNET who got a chance to try it out reached out to other editors to find some reasons to buy it. Almost none will interest the average consumer, who will surely wait for the second (or third) generation to adjust the less achieved matters (design, autonomy, that piece of cable to connect to the battery…) and reduce the price, which is out of reach for most.