Be One of the First to Try Out Apple’s Vision Pro Headset This Week. How to Book a Demo – CNET [CNET]

February 3, 2024 Nelson Aguilar technology

Apple is offering free demos of the Vision Pro headset in its stores right now.

Nelson Aguilar is an LA-based tech how-to writer and graduate of UCLA. With more than a decade of experience, he covers Apple and Google and writes on iPhone and Android features, privacy and security settings and more.

Apple’s Vision Pro mixed-reality headset is now available to the general public. Its retail starting price is $3,499, and not everyone will be willing to spend that much money on a computer you wear on your face.

That said, you still might be interested in taking the Vision Pro for a spin; the headset is compelling. It’s a technical marvel, with impressive visuals. And you don’t necessarily need to be an Apple fanatic to be curious about trying out Apple’s foray into spatial computing.

If you check out our review of the Vision Pro by CNET’s Scott Stein, you might understand why.

If the price does give you pause, but you still want to test out the Apple Vision Pro right now, there’s some good news: v-pre You don’t have to drop thousands of dollars. You can just go to an Apple store. Scroll on for details about that.

Want to learn more about the Vision Pro? Here’s what you need to know before buying the Vision Pro, and here are all the apps that will and won’t appear on the Vision Pro.

Check Out Apple’s Vision Pro Headset and Everything in the Box

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Sign up today for a Vision Pro demo at your local Apple Store

Starting Friday, Feb. 2, you can sign up for a demo of the Apple Vision Pro at your local Apple Store.

During the roughly 25-minute demonstration, an Apple Store employee will go through the process of using the headset with you.

Be warned: with the frenzy surrounding the Apple headset, you can expect long lines this weekend, and the demos are first come first serve, so get there early if you want a good chance of trying out the Vision Pro this weekend.

People waiting in line for the Apple Vision Pro — This was the line an hour after the store opened. Not too bad.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

To get a demo on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, you’ll need to head to your local Apple Store and sign up in person. Once you’re at the store, the process is easy: Find an Apple employee, tell them you want to demo the AVP, give them your name and contact information and reserve a demo time. You can leave the store and come back if your appointment is later on in the day.

The process to book a demo next week (Monday through Thursday) is easier — you can do it online. Head to either Apple’s Vision Pro page or the Apple Store app and tap the Book a demo button. After you sign in with your Apple ID (you’ll need two-factor authentication enabled), book your appointment. Right now, you can book a demo for Feb. 5 through 8.

People wearing the Vision Pro at the Apple Store — An Apple employee walks you through the entire roughly 25-minute demo.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

I got to demo the AVP today, and it went pretty smoothly. I waited in line, an Apple employee checked me in and then I came back during my appointment time. From there, I scanned my face to get fitted for the Vison Pro, and because I wear prescription glasses, I had them scanned to get the appropriate Zeiss Optical Inserts. An Apple employee then walked me through various gestures to navigate the AVP, and I got to browse the internet in Safari, check out spatial videos shot on the iPhone and watch a really immersive video demo from Apple TV.