Apple Vision Pro – the price in Germany? WTF... or ok?

One of the most talked about aspects of the Apple Vision Pro is its price. At $3499, it's undoubtedly more expensive than everyone expected. The leaks assumed 2500 USD and some people got heavy eye rolls.

And I have to admit that 30 seconds into the Vision Pro presentation I said “Shut up and take my money!”. But when I saw 3500 USD, I had my doubts.

1 hour podcast about the Apple Vision Pro!

If you are interested in the topic of Vision Pro, listen to our podcast episode on mixed reality glasses. There we discuss the technical data, compare the glasses with other devices such as the Meta Quest 2, 3 and Pro, report what the first testers of the Vision Pro think, we tell you who should buy the glasses and who is better off waiting. You find the podcast here at Apple Podcasts or you can listen to it directly through this player:

3500 USD is about 4200 EUR

If you think you can simply translate 3500 US dollars into 3500 euros, you are unfortunately wrong. The US price does not include VAT and the euro is currently weaker than the US dollar. Accordingly, something else is added here. The bottom line is that we should probably end up with a price of 4200 euros.

This severely limits the target group for the Vision Pro and you can be sure that it will not become a mass product for the time being. Of course it may well be that the apple vision pro 2 and 3 will then be significantly cheaper, but we currently have the hefty price on our cheeks.

Update: Explanation of my assessment based on a sample calculation

A reader wrote to me today that I should correct my estimate of the price, because after all the euro is stronger than the dollar and my conversion is wrong.

No she is not. I like to show it using an existing product that is within the price range of the VR glasses: the Mac Studio with the M2 Ultra chip.

The Mac Studio M2 Ultra is $3.999 in the US. If you look at this exact model in the German Apple store, you will find a price of 4.799 euros. Now calculate the Apple USD to EUR conversion rate:

4799 / 3999 = 1,20 (and a few crushes)

If you now take the rounded up US price for the Vision Pro of 3500 USD and multiply it by 1,20 you get: 4200 EUR. And that's exactly the price I've been touting as the probable price for the Vision Pro all along. I think I'm pretty good with that.

Is the Apple Vision Pro worth the price?

It has already been mentioned that this product is the most complex piece of technology that Apple has ever created. And if I'm not mistaken, I had heard somewhere that the pure material value was 1300 to 1500 USD. Then there are all the development costs, because Apple seems to have been working on the concept of the glasses for many (5-7!) years.

Calculated on this basis alone, the glasses are "expensive" from my point of view, but the price is somehow justified.

But the second question is: Is the Vision Pro MIR worth the money? That's something I can't answer because everyone has to discuss it for themselves. If it's a piece of equipment that I use for several hours a day and ultimately earn money with it and maybe even deduct it from my taxes, then the glasses are definitely worth the money.

However, if I only occasionally watch a film or want to switch off mentally, then it might be an expensive gadget. But if you have the money, why not buy it?

The Vision Pro for spatial computing is definitely on my shopping list, but I just have to see if I actually have that much money on the high edge at the beginning of 2024.

Are there cheap alternatives to the Vision Pro?

Of course there are VR glasses, like the Meta Quest 2 or the Meta Quest Pro, which cost less and with which you can also do many things that you can also experience with the Vision Pro. The Quest Pro can also watch films that feel like they are being played on a giant screen with decent quality. And the Quest 3 will also get passthrough in colorful and the Quest Pro already has it.

But all competitor glasses have to give up on these points:

• There is no way to create a virtual monitor with such sharp graphics for his Mac in AR.
• Deep integration into the Apple system is reserved for the Vision Pro
• The extremely high resolution of 4K for each eye is currently only possible with the Vision Pro.

So it's hard to compare the glasses with each other.

In addition, Apple has not said a word about the availability of real VR games on the Vision Pro. So if you like to gamble, you should be better – and cheaper – with the Quest 3 or currently with the Quest Pro in the fall. The Quest 3 will retail for EUR 569 - a fraction of the price you'll pay for the Vision Pro.

And last but not least, the Vision Pro has zeroed in on a user. The iris recognition allows only one person to use this device, making it impossible for the kids to play around with it when the main character is someone else. In this case you are also better served with other VR glasses.

My conclusion

We have already clarified what the price for the Vision Pro is. USD 3499 is announced in the USA and in Germany we will have to reckon with EUR 4200 to 4500. Whether the Apple glasses are worth this high price will only become clear when we see the first test reports and when you have discussed with yourself what you could use the glasses for.

FAQ

Hopefully, all questions about price and costs are answered here:

Jen Kleinholz( Founder & Sir Apfelot )

Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He acts as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with technical problems. In his spare time he rides electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with the iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions to current bugs.