Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that Vision Pro will launch in China this year, marking the first expansion of its headset outside the United States.
When asked about Vision Pro at the China Development Forum in Beijing, Cook responded by saying that the mixed-reality headset will go on sale in mainland China sometime later this year, according to state-owned media cited by Reuters.
Cook was on a charm offensive in China, where he talked with suppliers and fielded questions from reporters. His tour coincided with grand opening of Apple’s beautiful new Jing’an retail store in Shanghai, its second biggest in the world.
China is home to 1.44 billion people and files as Apple’s second-biggest market by revenue. The Cupertino giant will probably prioritize bringing Vision Pro to Chinese customers before expanding to other markets.
Apple confirms Vision Pro will soon launch in China
Vision Pro debuted on February 2 in the United States, but Apple has yet to schedule a worldwide launch. However, we already know what countries the AR/VR headset will most likely go on sale next: Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Australia, Canada, China, Singapore and South Korea.
The above regions are referenced in the visionOS code, in job listings and on Apple’s page highlighting places where the Vision Pro developer labs will be coming next. The company has yet to officially announce headset availability in those countries, so be patient and keep your eyes glued to iDB, as we’ll keep you in the loop.
Vision Pro could expand internationally ahead of WWDC24
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the Vision Pro will expand outside the United States ahead of this year’s WWDC, Apple’s developer conference that takes place in June.
Apple will also preview visionOS 2.0, iOS 18 and other software at the WWDC. According to a recent rumor, Apple may partner with the Chinese internet giant Baidu to use its models to power some of the AI-related technologies in iOS 18.