Vision Pro could cost extra by at least $300 to $600 for bespectacled people.
Do you wear spectacles and wish to buy Apple’s brand-new device Vision Pro? Well, you might have to spend a couple of hundred dollars more than others to try your hands on the company’s first-ever mixed-reality headset.
At the 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference which kicked off Monday, Apple unveiled the much-awaited mixed reality headset Apple Vision Pro for a whopping price of $3,499. The company also said that users with vision correction might have to use ZEISS Optical Inserts, that magnetically attach to the headset’s lenses, for visual fidelity and eye-tracking accuracy.
And according to Bloomberg’s chief correspondent Mark Gurman, these Zeiss prescription lenses for Apple Vision Pro could cost extra by at least $300 (around Rs 24,700) to $600 (about Rs 49,500) a pair. “I would guess that the Zeiss prescription lenses for the Vision Pro will be at least $300-600 a pair, unless Apple is eating part of the cost given the already high price of the headset itself,” he said in a Tweet.
Several Twitter users have expressed their disappointment about the same as they feel it would be unfair to charge extra bucks from people who do not have an option but to wear spectacles. “Those of us who have no choice but to wear glasses, get penalised to the cost of hundreds more simply to use a device that already is overpriced at $3500, especially when many of us already have paid hundreds for actual glasses,” a Twitter user named Richard Hyland (@richardhyland) said.
“It wouldn’t be fair to people wearing glasses. A very bad look for any company to charge one group of population more than the other based on physical limitations,” another Twitter user who goes by the name Maxym (@maxym_me) wrote.
In the meantime, there has been no official confirmation from Apple or Zeiss whether the additional lenses for bespectacled people will cost extra, and if yes, how much would it cost. Some might not take the news with a pinch of salt given that the iPhone maker has faced criticism in the past for charging what is considered to be unreasonably high prices for add-ons and accessories including items such as charging cables, adapters, and even storage upgrades for their devices.
However, it is noteworthy that while Apple’s accessories can be expensive, there are often third-party alternatives available in the market at lower prices. These alternatives may not always meet the same level of quality or compatibility as that of Apple, but they can provide more budget-friendly options for consumers. And once Vision Pro is made available to the public, we might see some alternatives for its add-ons as well.
Just to recap, Apple Vision Pro, which is claimed to be the “most advanced personal electronics device ever,” is powered by the world’s first spatial operating system visionOS, featuring a three-dimensional interface that makes digital content look and feel present in a user’s physical world. The headset features an ultra-high-resolution display system that uses micro-OLED technology to pack 23 million pixels across two displays. This is more pixels than a 4K TV for each eye. Furthermore, the MR headset uses high-speed cameras and a ring of LEDs for its high-performance eye-tracking system.
For stunning graphics and a seamless experience, Apple’s long-awaited headset is powered by two chips, M2 and R1. Furthermore, Vision Pro requires an external battery pack that is capable of running for two hours on a single charge, while the headset can be used all day when plugged in. The device will be available early next year in the United States followed by the launch in more countries.
