Apple Vision Pro Witnessing High Return Rate Due to Five Major Pain-Points: Report

Apple Vision Pro, the company's first attempt at a mixed-reality headset, went on sale on February 2 in the US. A new trend has started to emerge with just a little over the two-week mark, which overlaps the company's 14-day deadline to return products. As per a report, several users who bought the headset during the first few days of its sale are now returning it owing to five prominent reasons. Users have highlighted issues such as physical discomfort, feeling of isolation, lack of apps and content library, and more with the Apple Vision Pro.

In his newsletter, Apple analyst Mark Gurman reported that “a surprising number” of users had returned their purchase within the first 14 days of the headset's launch, which passed on Friday (February 16). Gurman's claim comes from data he sourced from retail stores that show that the Apple Vision Pro has a return rate between average and above average when compared to other products. “Some smaller stores are seeing one or two returns per day, but larger locations have seen as many as over eight take-backs in a single day,” he said.

Five reasons why users are returning the Apple Vision Pro

Gurman revealed that he spoke with more than a dozen buyers who returned the headset within the 14-day return window. As per the feedback from people, five main reasons have emerged with the wearable device being returned. The first issue was physical discomfort arising from its weight and the external battery pack and wiring that made it troublesome to manage. The usage experience was described as “headache-inducing and uncomfortable”. Second, people cited the lack of applications and video content as their reason for disappointment with the mixed-reality headset.

“It clearly is the future — but there's not enough stuff for it to do right now. The apps just aren't there,” Farzad Mesbahi, a former Tesla supply chain manager in Texas told Bloomberg.

The third issue that resonated with several buyers was an isolating experience. Unlike an iPhone, which a user can simply pass around to show a video or a meme, it is much more onerous with the Apple Vision Pro. This lack of shared experience often resulted in isolation from friends and family.

“You kind of find yourself in this virtual environment and you're asking yourself what you're doing here,” Randy Chia, a product manager for an investment firm in Los Angeles told Bloomberg.

Further, the fourth issue highlighted by the report included narrow field-of-view and glare from the screen which resulted in eye strain and vision issues. Finally, users also said that the mixed-reality headset was not much useful for productivity and instead found that working on it for long periods of time was rather strenuous on the eyes.

Gurman highlights that while returns are not unusual for products, these reasons are quite concerning. Further, given that most of the buyers are purchasing a first-generation product at the price of $3,500 (roughly Rs. 2.9 lakh), it is unlikely that they would be easily dissuaded by usual glitches and issues.