Apple's Vision Pro Gets Foothold --- The $3,500 mixed-reality headset is catching on in some business niches

“The iPhone was the epitome of Apple product migration, gaining a foothold among consumers who fell in love with the device and literally carried it into the corporate world. The Vision Pro is playing out in reverse: This time around, companies are leading the adoption of a transformative new device.

 

Priced at $3,500, Apple's mixed-reality headset is too expensive for most consumers. Some users have found it unsuitable for extended wear, given that it weighs about one and a half pounds, excluding battery. Some have complained that there isn't enough content available. Overall, it is too conspicuous for streetwear or the gym -- and wasn't intended for either.

 

Those concerns are important to many consumers, but aren't a factor in certain business contexts.

 

Business or pleasure

 

The Vision Pro is an example of spatial computing, which Apple said blends digital content with the physical world, while allowing users to stay present and connected to others. With the Vision Pro, you can dial the intensity of the virtual experience up or down. You can pin a document or image in front of you while you are in a meeting, maintaining your perception of the world around you in a normal way. Or you might immerse yourself on a beach in Bora Bora with a level of realism that obliterates your living room or office.

 

After contemporary efforts going back to Google Glass, augmented reality is now coming into its own, given advances in AI, graphics rendering, audio and display technology, product design and user experience.

 

Even before the Vision Pro became available for sale in February 2024, companies have been developing on the platform.

 

Apple declined to disclose how many companies are using Vision Pro, but the company said those efforts are coming out of pilot and starting to scale.

 

"We're seeing increased momentum for Apple Vision Pro in the enterprise as organizations move from early exploration to large-scale execution," said Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of enterprise and education markets.

 

Exploring possibilities

 

Home-improvement retailer Lowe's has deployed the Vision Pro at five locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and five locations in the Austin, Texas, area. Customers use them to visualize how design ideas will look in their actual kitchen.

 

The company plans to scale the effort to 100 of approximately 1,700 stores by the end of the year, eventually ramping up to 400 locations in markets with sufficient scale to justify the investment, said Chief Digital and Information Officer Seemantini Godbole.

 

The Lowe's retail model is fundamentally different from those of mass retailers, because transactions are typically larger and more meaningful, and often require a decade of commitment, according to Godbole.

 

Such transactions often pass through multiple stages, from initial consultations to family discussions and in-home installations that can last for a week. Significant decisions are often based on small samples of materials, leading to potential disconnects between expectations and reality, she said.

 

"Spatial computing, particularly the Vision Pro, can bridge this gap, allowing customers to vividly visualize their new spaces and make more confident purchasing decisions," Godbole said.

 

Virtual worlds

 

Dassault Systemes, the French industrial software company, has long created virtual worlds for commercial use. Scientists, manufacturing experts, product managers and others use its platforms to design and engineer molecules for drug development, as well as data centers, factories, aircraft and electric cars.

 

The 3DExperience platform was launched more than a decade ago, pulling together a range of Dassault brands including 3DExcite on the premise that "everything is going to become an experience," 3DExcite Chief Executive Tom Acland said. In February, Dassault Systemes and Apple announced a collaboration to produce the 3DLive App, which went live Feb. 7. Users include Hyundai, Virgin Galactic and Deutsche Aircraft, he said.

 

Vision Pro, he said, is currently at the "apex of the possible" in spatial computing, but a growing range of tools is bringing different levels of augmented reality to the market, he said. For example, Google Lens and iPhone's visual intelligence feature allow users to point their camera at an object and get information about it. News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal, has a commercial agreement to supply news through Apple services and a commercial agreement to supply content on Google platforms.

 

At the industrial level, mixed reality will lead to an integration of a wide range of functions and roles. User experience designers are going to work closely with mechanical and software engineers, according to Acland.

 

That's because products such as cars are becoming more complex. "To introduce new functionalities continuously, companies need to explain them through media -- data, information, and content," Acland said. Vision Pro has been effective on that front, given its immersive nature and intuitive user experience, he said.

 

Knowledge retention

 

Canadian aircraft training company CAE is using Vision Pro to provide pilot training that complements full-motion flight simulator experience required for certification and recurrent checks, according to Chief Technology and Product Officer Emmanuel Levitte.

 

The company has employed mixed reality and immersive training for at least 10 years. The Vision Pro has unlocked new capabilities, he said. The display is as sharp and readable as the controls in a real cockpit, which Levitte found not to be the case with other devices. The haptic feedback and audio quality also contribute to a more realistic training experience, he said.

 

Remote crew members will also be able to be co-located virtually, enabling training that was previously only possible when individuals were physically in the same cockpit, according to Levitte.

 

Its work with the Vision Pro is in the early stages, but beginning to scale. CAE has deployed the device for training pilots on the Bombardier Global 7500, and Levitte said it is talking to other airlines and business aviation operators about developing similar training plans for additional top-tier aircraft.

 

"This immersion leads to better knowledge retention and preparedness," he said. CAE is collecting subjective feedback and conducting studies to measure retention.

 

It is likely that fewer than 1 million units of the Vision Pro have been sold since launch, with most sales occurring in the enterprise market, according to Ben Bajarin, CEO and principal analyst of Creative Strategies. "That is totally fine for where the market is now," he said "It's super early, but I don't think anyone disagrees that there is a commercial opportunity," he said.

 

The market will take years to develop, although the process of figuring out how companies can put it to use is well underway.

 

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Steven Rosenbush is the bureau chief for enterprise technology at WSJ Leadership Institute.” [1]

 

1. Apple's Vision Pro Gets Foothold --- The $3,500 mixed-reality headset is catching on in some business niches. Rosenbush, Steven.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 05 Sep 2025: B4.