Apple Inc. has sold some 160,000 to 180,000 Vision Pro headsets since the device became available for preorder Friday, but a prominent Apple watcher notes that the product still remains “niche.”
Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities, wrote overnight that investors may be left with a “positive” read from Apple’s
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initial sellout of Vision Pro mixed-reality devices, which could be gauged by their extended delivery times shortly after the order window opened. But he also said “a key concern emerged” after that.
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“Popular iPhone models also sell out immediately upon pre-order, and shipping times typically increase to several weeks within hours,” Kuo wrote. Yet while iPhone models typically see delivery times continue to build in the 24 to 48 hours after the initial rush, Kuo noted that wait times for the Vision Pro seemed unchanged 48 hours after the initial sellout.
“The immediate sold-out when pre-orders opened confirms earlier predictions,” Kuo wrote. “However, the inability to sustain a steady increase in pre-order demand is a major concern and also confirms earlier concerns about whether the intensity of demand can be sustained.”
Apple didn’t respond to a MarketWatch request for comment on initial Vision Pro orders.
While Kuo thinks Apple shouldn’t have a hard time shipping 500,000 Vision Pro devices this year, he also sought to put his initial order estimate in context: “Apple has a massive user base of over 1.2 billion active users. As long as about 0.007% of users are willing to buy after pre-ordering, Vision Pro can sell out after opening for pre-order.”
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Apple’s Vision Pro starts at $3,499, so the company would take in at least $630 million from 180,000 Vision Pros. The company is expected to generate nearly $96 billion in total revenue for the March quarter, including more than $11 billion in revenue for the wearables, home and accessories category where the Vision Pro will likely sit.
