Apple is geared up to announce many new changes to the software of its popular products including the iPhone at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference in California this week. Rumour has it there are big changes coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac with AI the name of the game – Apple is playing catchup with its rivals Samsung and Google. But the American tech titan might also finally let its loyal British customers know when they’ll be able to buy one of its latest products, the Apple Vision Pro.
Vision Pro is Apple’s virtual reality headset, even though the firm refuses to call it that. It prefers the term ‘spatial computing’ to describe the headset which can display VR experiences such as fullscreen movies and video, but also augmented reality (AR) scenarios such as floating computer windows while you can also see the world around you. It’s all very Minority Report, and all very expensive – the device costs $3,499 in the US, currently the only country it’s on sale.
But there are whispers this could change as soon as this week. WWDC kicks off on Monday 10 June and goes until Friday 14 June. It’s a conference where developers of apps and services gather to learn about how Apple is changing iOS for the iPhone as well as iPadOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS for all its other products. Though Apple is expected to concentrate on iOS 18 updates, the company could be set to announce the UK release date and price for the Vision Pro.
Macrumors reported that Tim Cook recently confirmed during a trip to China that the Vision Pro will go on sale there at some point in 2024. That’s a big deal, as Apple will have had to optimise visionOS to run in Chinese compared to the US English version on sale. We imagine it’d be less work to get a UK English version out, so the UK could see Apple’s latest gadget hit store shelves in time for Christmas.
Renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also reportedly said he thought Apple would launch Vision Pro outside the US before WWDC. That hasn’t been the case, which points to the possibility of Apple using its big annual shindig to push the message that its headset is heading to Blighty.
We imagine Apple will charge about £3,499 for the Vision Pro. That’s one pricey present, but the company often charges the same in British Pounds for its products as it does in US Dollars. It’ll definitely be more than £3,000, which is a lot to ask for a first generation product that you have to wear on your face. Developers could learn a lot more about the Vision Pro at WWDC though, and Apple could be gearing up to release some innovative new apps for it – hopefully giving it some more utility to justify that sky-high price.
Express.co.uk will be on call to bring you all the latest from WWDC as and when it happens this week.
