Apple will make its Vision Pro mixed reality glasses, which cost $3,499, available in the United States starting February 2, with pre-orders starting on January 19.
CEO Tim Cook described the new glasses as “the most advanced consumer electronic device ever,” according to Forbes.
Apple revealed the glasses for the first time during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
The company explained that the glasses provide each eye with an ultra-high-resolution screen that contains more pixels than a 4K TV, and users can switch between augmented reality and virtual reality using a dial on the side of the glasses.
Users can control the glasses using their eyes, hands and voice, such as tapping their fingers to select items while using apps.
Vision Pro is powered by visionOS, an operating system built on top of other Apple products, so users have access to more than a million apps for iPhone and iPad, and the glasses also have their own app store.
The glasses contain 256 GB of storage, and include a dual-SIM design with an M2 chip and a new R1 chip that “processes inputs from 12 cameras, five sensors and six microphones,” to make the content appear realistic.
In addition to the price of the device, Zeiss prescription lenses for glasses cost $149, while readers cost $99.
The glasses also include Apple’s new authentication system, Optic ID, which scans the user’s iris to unlock the device and complete other tasks, but Apple says that eye tracking information is not shared internally or with third parties.
Vision Pro glasses are the first new product category from Apple since it launched the Apple Watch series in 2015.
In 2016, Apple filed patents for eyeglass parts, such as lightweight glasses, but the company faced technical challenges that delayed development, Bloomberg reported.
