Apple’s Vision Pro headset launches next month, as US tech giant seeks to expand mixed-reality market

Apple’s high-priced headset for toggling between the real and digital world will be available in its stores beginning February 2, launching the trendsetting company’s push to broaden the appeal of what so far has been a niche technology.

Apple unveiled the sleek US$3,500 goggles at a software conference held at its Cupertino, California, headquarters eight months ago – an event that was designed to encourage developers to make apps tailored for a device that projects users into three-dimensional simulations of reality.

Apple’s announcement coincides with the annual CES trade show in Las Vegas, where the company has long been conspicuously absent.

Apple says the goggles’ operating system will be compatible with more than 1 million apps designed for the iPhone and iPad. Pre-orders begin January 19, but buyers will have to go to a store to be properly fitted for the goggles, which are controlled with the eyes and a few simple hand gestures.

Although Facebook owner Meta Platforms and other companies have been making virtual-reality headsets for years with limited success, many industry analysts believe Apple has the potential to expand the technology’s audience beyond the video gamers and mostly tech nerds that have embraced it so far.