William Gallagher
A reference to Apple Vision Pro accessories being excluded from a limited-time promotion in Japan hints that there may be an early May launch for the headset there.
The Apple Vision Pro will obviously go on sale outside the US at some point, and persistent rumors have said that overseas sales may begin before WWDC in June. The only specific commitment Apple has made, however, is that the headset will go on sale in China later in 2024.
However, generally reliable Japanese site Macotakara has spotted a mention of Apple Vision Pro accessories on a local online reseller called Line Shopping. That reseller claims to be an official Apple website and is currently running a promotion — which it says excludes Apple Vision Pro accessories.
Detail from the Japanese reseller's terms and conditions mentioning the Apple Vision Pro and accessories (in translation)The promotion is centered on offering various points for purchases, but the significant part is that the campaign has a specific date range. It runs from April 30, 2024, to May 6, 2024.
Apple could very well announce the Japanese launch of the Apple Vision Pro with a press release, like it does when it expands HomePod availability. The products are obviously two different classes, though.
If Apple chooses a pre-order period, it generally gives a week between announcement and availability. If the headset itself were to actually be available to buy before the end of May 6, 2024, Apple would already be taking pre-orders.
However, the Line Shopping terms and conditions concern only accessories for the headset, rather than the Apple Vision Pro itself. So it is possible that Apple will announce a pre-order week for the headset, and both it and third-party manufacturers could have accessories ready to go on sale immediately.
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4 Comments
No Canada?
I imagine the Japanese might like this.
The Japanese are already using psvr2.
At 155 Yen to the Dollar?
It was as recent as 2021 when the Yen was 105 Yen to the Dollar, and it has long been accepted that the right balance is about 110 Yen to the Dollar. If you calculate the average exchange rate from 1993 to Oct. 2021, it works out to be 108 Yen to the Dollar, so it's been right about that 110 Yen to the Dollar balance for the last 30 years (about as long as I've lived in Japan).
If you get paid in Yen and live in Japan like I do, your life is largely accustomed to that 110 Yen to the Dollar balance. When the exchange rate quickly becomes 155 to the Dollar (what it is today in early May 2024), a good number of things suddenly become 41% more expensive, especially imports. And Japan imports a lot from overseas, including most of its energy, and Apple products too.
So if you think people in the US aren't buying VISION PRO in droves due to the high cost primarily, imagine a VISION PRO that suddenly gets 41% more expensive, transforming that $3,499 into $4934. How eager are you to pay $4934, even if you are someone with a fair amount of disposable income? That is what Japan faces with a VISION PRO in 2024. I'm surprised the article made no mention of this important fact.
We can talk all day about why the Yen is so weak, but there is substantial speculation that the Yen will weaken to 160 or more later in the Yen, especially if the Bank of Japan doesn't raise interest rates. (It seems the BOJ has been taking action to boost the Yen by massive purchases of the Yen very recently, but it hasn't had a huge impact on strengthening the currency.) If Japan does raise rates, national debt and corporate debt become issues. Don't listen to all the talk about how exporters in Japan are in paradise right now.
There are many issues that Japan faces, and new expensive items introduced to this market couldn't come at a worse time for consumers.