Apple's Vision Pro is already shipping to early orderers ahead of Feb 2 launch

Apple's Vision Pro first went up for preorder on Friday, January 19 after it was first announced way back in June of 2023, but it won't go on sale until February 2. The headset is set to be a huge deal for Apple as it marks the company's first entry into a new market since the Apple Watch back in 2014. And now it appears that people who were able to get their preorders in quickly are already starting to see their headsets ship from Apple's factories.

That's according to a new report by 9to5Mac which notes that people who check their Apple Store order status will continue to see that it is preparing to ship. But as is the case with iPhone buyers around launch time people can instead head over to the UPS website and check their tracking there. Entering the orderer's phone number, sans the last two digits, as the reference number is often enough to find their order's delivery status. However, the 9to5Mac report does note that using the USPS My Choice platform is instead the better way to go thanks to unspecified changes to the normal tracking system.

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In the case of the order checked by 9to5Mac, the Vision Pro order departed an Apple facility in Shanghai and weighed more than 10 pounds. However, this doesn't mean that anyone should expect the headset to start to arrive any time sooner than the February 2 release date. Apple often ships its preordered products out early like this before having couriers hold them locally to their delivery destination to ensure that they are available in good time.

The Vision Pro is of course Apple's first foray into the world of spatial computing and the company will hope that it can create a new product category for itself. With iPhone sales no longer the boom that they once were finding a new market to tap is key for Apple, and it will hope that AR/VR headsets are it.

Apple is seemingly aware that the $3,499 starting price of the Vision Pro is prohibitive for a lot of people and is reportedly already working on finding a way to ship a cheaper version. It isn't yet clear what that cheaper version will have to offer in terms of features, nor what Apple will strip away to hit that lower price point. However, that headset isn't expected to be ready for some time yet which means the current Vision Pro will be the only option for some time yet.