Apple’s Vision Pro mixed-reality headset obtains China quality certification ahead of official domestic release

An Apple ‘wearable computer’, believed to be the Vision Pro, has received accreditation from product standards body China Quality Certification Centre
This development lends credence to Apple chief executive Tim Cook’s assurance that the Vision Pro will be released this year on the mainland

Apple

Xinmei Shen

Published: 6:00pm, 14 May 2024

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Apple’s Vision Pro mixed-reality headset appears to have been granted a key product certificate in mainland China, where the US technology giant is expected to release the device within this year after its US launch in February.

A search on the website of product standards body China Quality Certification Centre (CQCC) showed that an Apple “wearable computer” had obtained from the Beijing-based agency on Monday a China Compulsory Certificate – a quality and safety accreditation required for all products sold in the country.

The unnamed Apple device, believed to be the Vision Pro, was shown in the search as made by Luxcase Precision Technology – a unit of Chinese electronics contract manufacturer Luxshare Precision Industry – in Kunshan, a city in eastern Jiangsu province.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook speaks with Luxshare Precision Industry chairwoman Grace Wang Laichun during his tour of a factory run by the Vision Pro headset assembler on October 18, 2023. Photo: Weibo

The CQCC certification lends credence to Apple chief executive Tim Cook’s assurance that the Vision Pro, with prices starting at US$3,499, will be released this year on the mainland, according to his interview in March with state-run broadcaster China Central Television.

The Vision Pro’s launch in new markets could be imminent. A report on Sunday by Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter, said Apple plans to release the headset to international markets after the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference next month.

The Vision Pro, which Apple markets as a “spatial computer”, represents the company’s first new product category since the Apple Watch in 2015. The headset enables users to integrate digital media with the real world, while interacting with the system via motion gestures, eye tracking and speech recognition.

Ahead of the headset’s US release, merchants on the popular Chinese online flea market Xianyu in January offered to ship some Vision Pro stock to the mainland at double the official price. Xianyu is owned by Alibaba Group Holding, which also owns the South China Morning Post.

A customer walks out of the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, with the company’s new Vision Pro mixed-reality headset on February 2, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Some domestic merchants in February started to offer the Vision Pro for rent to Chinese tech enthusiasts, weeks after the device was released for sale in the US. Rental costs varied from 98 yuan (US$13.60) an hour to 1,500 yuan per day.

High interest, however, may not immediately translate to strong sales when the Vision Pro is finally released in China, according to a research note published by Counterpoint last month. The Vision Pro and other new mixed-reality devices to be released this year on the mainland are expected to “only have a limited impact on boosting the sales volume in this sector”, Counterpoint said.

“With the target consumer group already purchasing through other channels, the market response is expected to be calm,” said Counterpoint senior analyst Ivan Lam, who pointed out that many domestic consumers interested in the Vision Pro may have already got their hands on the device ahead of its official China release.

The Vision Pro’s high price tag also limits its consumer base to high-end users, according to Lam. Still, Apple’s brand influence and innovation will “attract loyal fans and tech enthusiasts”, he added.