We've officially passed the two-week return window for the Apple Vision Pro, which allowed people who bought the headphones on launch day to return them. Rumors on social media have suggested that the Vision Pro was being returned en masse. However, inside sources suggest this may not be the case and offer interesting insight into who is returning their headphones and why.
In our Apple Vision Pro review, we address the positives and negatives of using the device and put together our top three reasons why users may end up returning the headphones. As Apple's first attempt at a mixed reality headset, the product was always going to be quite polarizing. It lacks the backing of familiarity that other Apple products, like a new iPhone or MacBook, always have at this point.
Not to mention the fact that Apple Vision Pro is expensive. With a retail price of $3,499/£2,788, AU$6,349, it's easy to imagine that more than a few returns are due to buyer's remorse – I know I'd return to the Apple Store as soon as I encountered the slightest inconvenience or discomfort (or look at my bank account, frankly). Especially if I couldn't get my prescription for the headset or just found it really uncomfortable.
In fact, AppleInsider reached out to sources within Apple's retail chain for more information on headphone returns and noted that discomfort is probably one of the biggest concerns when it comes to them. “By far the majority of our returns occur within a day or two. These are the people who get sick from using it,” a source told AppleInsider's Mike Wuerthele. “Vomiters, people who are denied prescriptions, that kind of thing. They know it very quickly.”
Influencer Investments – Gotta get that content!
The second group of people who seem to generate the most returns are influencers and YouTubers. Once again, the Vision Pro is a product that many people want to get their hands on, so it would make sense that online technology 'gurus' would want to jump on the trend at launch.
With the two-week return window that Apple offers, that's more than enough time to get as much of the headphones as possible, then return them and get your money back, too. If you're a tech content creator, it's easier to view Vision Pro as a short-term investment than a personal splurge.
“So far, it's just the fucking YouTubers,” one retail employee told Wuerthele.
However, according to AppleInsider's sources, the return process is not as simple as simply packing up the headphones and dropping them off. Each return is accompanied by an extensive and detailed survey that will allow users to delve deeper into the reason for the return and their experience with the product. This is great news in the long term because it could mean that any future version of the Apple Vision Pro will be designed and built with this feedback in mind, and the Vision Pro could be said to already be a public beta of what will presumably eventually become the 'Apple'. Vision'.
Beyond AppleInsider's coverage, prolific Apple leaker and Bloomberg writer Mark Gurman has (unsurprisingly) weighed in on the Vision Pro returns discussion. He reported more or less the same thing; Some people think it's uncomfortable or makes them sick, while for others it's just too much money.
Gurman spoke with a Los Angeles professional who purchased and returned the headphones and said, “I loved them.” They were bananas,' but then explained that he simply hadn't used it that often and that the price was too high: “If the price had been $1,500 to $2,000, I would have kept it just for “I watch movies, but for four thousand dollars , I'll wait for version two.”
If users return them because they don't use them as much as they thought, certain aspects make them nauseous, or they simply find the headphones too uncomfortable on their head, Apple can take this feedback into account and move forward. . To be fair, it's a common criticism of VR headsets in general: maybe some people just aren't designed to use this type of product?
