Recently, Apple's Vision Pro has officially been launched in China. Journalists visited the Apple store in Wangfujing, Beijing.

The biggest difference between the overseas version of Vision Pro and the domestic version is that the domestic version comes with a simplified Chinese system, but it still needs to be updated to visionOS 2.0 operating system in the autumn of this year. The domestic version of Vision Pro was already adapted for localized social, film and television entertainment and collaboration software applications, such as Weibo, Tencent Video and DingTalk.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the positioning of Vision Pro is a computing device that balances work and life, and the key to the product's start is to build an ecosystem.

According to incomplete statistics from Xing Kuang data, 36 companies among listed companies have business scope covering VR/MR content production and equipment development. Some developers believe that the next generation of Vision Pro is not attractive enough for ordinary consumers, but there are opportunities for developers.

Vision Pro appointments are already booked out until July.

The official website of Apple posted detailed information about Vision Pro including additional accessories like the Apple Vision Pro cabin and Zeiss optical lenses (myopia and hyperopia lenses) for consumers to choose from.

Unlike other Apple products that are displayed and experienced, consumers need to make reservations online to experience Vision Pro in store. The retail team of Apple's stores will provide 30 minutes of one-on-one service, including assistance with wearing and setting various functions of Vision Pro.

According to reporters from Cailian Press who consulted Apple officials, the reservation experience in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen has been booked up until early July.

Due to the official launch of Vision Pro, the Apple Store in Wangfujing, Beijing opened two hours earlier than usual, but there were no crowds of people queuing outside the store. The first nine people to experience the store were customers.

The store has eight experience spots, and before the customers experience the product, the store staff will check the degree of nearsightedness for them and customize the lenses for the experience. Each experience lasts for about half an hour. The normal opening hours of the Apple Store in Wangfujing, Beijing is around 12 hours from 10 am to 10 pm, which means that the store can accommodate up to 192 experience-based testers per day, without considering the manufacture time for lenses.

According to the staff at the Apple Store, only the Vision Pro device itself is sold in store. If customers need to configure lenses, they need to provide optometry reports and customize the lenses online.

According to the observation of the reporter, in the first hour of opening the Wangfujing Apple Store, a total of four devices were sold, three of which were sold to self-media bloggers, and the other was to Du Haitao, a host from Hunan Television.

One of the self-media bloggers told the reporter that they had previously purchased three American versions of Vision Pro. This time, they purchased the domestic version, partly to support Apple's product and partly because the domestic version has better warranty protection than the American version.

Du Haitao said that he was impressed by the immersive video experience and decided to buy Vision Pro.

At present, the starting price of Vision Pro in China is 29,999 yuan, but the overseas version is currently sold for about 23,000 yuan on e-commerce platforms, which is equivalent to an 20% discount. Warranty, language, and whether local applications can be downloaded may be potential factors that prevent consumers from purchasing the overseas version.

According to an Apple Store staff member, like the iPhone, Vision Pro has normal warranty support in the sales region. Users can download Vision Pro applications from different regions by switching the region.

Before entering the Chinese market, Vision Pro has already built an application ecosystem.

Currently, Vision Pro has more than 2,000 apps and 1.5 million compatible iPhone and iPad applications. Many domestic companies had already developed applications for the Vision Pro before the domestic version was launched, including Weibo, TikTok VR Live Streaming, Migu Video, Taobao, Tencent Video, WeChat, and DingTalk.

In terms of classification, the first launch of Vision Pro applications already covers social, video entertainment, shopping, and office collaboration applications.

Weibo CEO Wang Gaofei said: "The latest version of the Weibo App not only supports the Weibo browsing experience in virtual space, but also brings spatial video, spatial photo experience and 4K video cinema-like enjoyment, making your Weibo world more vivid and three-dimensional."

Momo has developed a social product inSpaze for Vision Pro. Based on spatial audio, users can recognize who is speaking in virtual space by the direction of the sound. InSpaze also provides real-time translation in 12 different languages.

It is rumored that the Build information of the iOS 8.0.43 beta version released by WeChat clearly indicates compatibility with visionOS 1.0, which is suitable for Apple Vision Pro.

Reporters learned that Tencent Video and Migu Video will provide 3D content on Vision Pro. Tencent Video also provides a unique King of Glory e-sports viewing mode, which provides multi-angle perspective, dynamic data dashboard and 3D sandbox; Migu Video provides full-category sports events, including the Super League, NBA, CBA, five major leagues, WTT and UFC, supporting simultaneous viewing of multiple events, as well as 3D model display of player information.

On the e-commerce platform, Taobao and JD.com have developed and launched Vision Pro version shopping applications. Users can browse the 3D models of goods in these two apps, perform on-screen comparisons of different goods, can zoom in and out to view product details on their own, or choose 1:1 proportion simulation of the size of items in the real world, and browse the real world's light and shadow effects.

Recently, reporters learned that Taobao is conducting in-depth cooperation with brands such as Xiaomi Auto, Maison Margiela, MAC, and Midea, including "virtual car trial", "virtual makeup trial", and "smart home". At present, the Xiaomi SU7 has opened a "virtual test drive" reservation on the homepage of Taobao Vision Pro version.

JD.com, on the other hand, has partnered with Samsung TV, Casarte refrigerator, Robam Appliances, Harman carding, MORRORART and other cooperation partners to achieve content coverage in many scenarios.

However, the products mainly displayed on the e-commerce app are big brands, and small commodity products may not be available due to the lack of 3D models and have not yet been launched online.

For the landing of DingTalk on Vision Pro, DingTalk President Ye Jun said that users only need to use Apple Vision Pro to work on multiple screens or use simple gestures for immersive meetings and cinema-level live broadcasts on high-speed trains."We will continue to explore more performance and experience of Apple Vision Pro, and jointly explore the future of spatial computing."

Previously, Tim Cook said in an interview with the media that Apple's positioning for Vision Pro is to take care of both work and life, which can be used to watch entertainment programs, and can also launch multiple screens for work, and more games will be logged in to Vision Pro in the future. "My favorite feature is the Mac Virtual Display."

"It is as versatile as an ordinary computer," Cook added, "Vision Pro can serve in design, retail, decoration, education and other scenarios. The key to the product's launch is to build an ecosystem."

It is reported that Apple has set up an AppleVisionPro developer lab in Shanghai to help developers experience the effect of running apps on visionOS, iPadOS or iOSapp on AppleVisionPro, and no matter which stage the developer is in, they can sign up to participate in the ongoing new courses, seminars, labs and one-on-one consultations.

According to incomplete statistics from Xingkuang Data, 36 of the listed companies have business scopes related to VR/MR content production and equipment R&D. These include four companies, Tianyu Digital Technology, Shanghai Fengyuzhu Culture Technology, Silkroad Visual Technology, and AVIT Ltd., which have applied or opened up Vision Pro content production and development.

However, there have been recent reports that Apple has suspended the development of its next-generation top-of-the-line head-mounted display device and will focus on "cheaper head-mounted displays" with pricing targets between $1,500 and $2,500, close to the price of the current high-end iPhone (the top-of-the-line iPhone 15 Pro Max is priced at $1,600, or about RMB 14,000).

Developers have told Caixin reporters that after developing the app, although Vision Pro cannot be as widely used in the consumer market as the iPhone, it still represents the future direction of computer interaction: 3D-information display and interaction. "I am cautiously optimistic about the improved next generation of Vision Pro, which may give developers some opportunities even if ordinary consumers currently do not support them."

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