It took just 18 minutes for Apple to sell out of its initial stock of Apple Vision Pro after preorders began on January 19, 2024. After two hours, shipping dates had already slipped back to March and even April.

"Based on pre-order inventory and shipping time, I estimated that Apple sold 160,000 to 180,000 Vision Pro units during the first pre-order weekend," wrote analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a blog post.

It's not clear what Kuo is basing his pre-order inventory calculation on, but he has previously estimated that Apple would make 60,000 to 80,000 units.

"The instant sold-out and extended shipping times seem positive at first, but a key concern emerged: shipping times remained unchanged 48 hours after pre-orders opened," continues Kuo. "It indicates that demand may quickly taper off after the core fans and heavy users place their orders."

Kuo notes that with all Apple pre-orders, especially for the iPhone, there is an immediate increase in shipping times. "However, unlike Vision Pro, iPhone models usually continue to see a steady increase in shipping times 24 to 48 hours after pre-orders open," he writes, "indicating that demand continues to grow even after the initial sold-out."

The analyst cites media reports saying that Apple Vision Pro suppliers such as Luxshare "will work overtime during the Lunar New Year to meet demand, meaning better than expected demand for Vision Pro."

"However, the reality is that because there is still room for improvement in Vision Pro production efficiency," he says, "Luxshare has been working full-time overtime since the start of mass production to offset the impact of production efficiency on shipments."

Again based on his unspecified inventory calculations, Kuo points out that with a "user base of over 1.2 billion active users... as long as about 0.007% of users are willing to buy... Vision Pro can sell out after opening for pre-order."

Kuo concludes that "right now, Vision Pro is still a very niche product."

Separately, Apple has revealed that the repair cost for a damaged Apple Vision Pro can be as much as $2,399.

Source: Appleinsider