Tim Cook dinner confirms Imaginative and prescient Professional’s launch in China this 12 months, emphasizes Apple’s robust relationship with nation

In short: Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional headset appears to have divided opinion between those that find it irresistible and people who suppose it is a waste of $3,500. One main downside with the system for anybody dwelling outdoors of the US is that Apple nonetheless is not promoting it abroad, however CEO Tim Cook dinner has simply confirmed that the Imaginative and prescient Professional might be coming to China this 12 months, suggesting a wider world launch will occur in 2024.

Cook dinner is at the moment in China at a time when the once-strong hyperlink between Apple and the nation is beneath pressure.

The Apple boss has been touring a brand new Apple retailer in Shanghai and attending the China Growth Discussion board in Beijing. It was on the latter occasion the place he was requested if the Imaginative and prescient Professional would launch in China this 12 months. Certainly one of CCTV’s accounts on social media web site Weibo present Cook dinner answering “sure” to the query.

China is not the one nation outdoors the US that can see a Imaginative and prescient Professional launch in 2024. MacRumors lately spotted job listings for so-called “Briefing Expertise Specialists” in Australia and Japan (and China). The gross sales place includes demonstrating the Imaginative and prescient Professional’s capabilities to enterprise and enterprise clients. Apple posted the identical itemizing within the UK final 12 months, although the headset nonetheless is not out there in the UK.

Apple does say on its web site that the Imaginative and prescient Professional will launch internationally this 12 months. There are not any mentions of dates and which places will get the headset initially, making Cook dinner’s assertion that it will land in China the primary official affirmation of a selected nation.

Apple’s relationship with China is not what it was. iPhone gross sales within the Asian nation had been down 24% in the course of the first six weeks of 2024 as native large Huawei made huge features. China has additionally banned iPhones from extra authorities places of work and delicate departments, and there have been studies of iPhone 15 gross sales in China not dwelling as much as these of the iPhone 14.

Regardless of the pressure, Cook dinner emphasised that Apple’s dedication to China, a relationship he as soon as known as “symbiotic,” stays robust. “I’m very assured in it (China),” Cook dinner stated. “I really like China, I really like being right here, I really like the individuals and the tradition. Each time I come right here, I’m reminded that something is feasible right here.”