Apple Vision Pro Developer Labs See Low Turnout Due to Travel Limits
Apple's Vision Pro developer labs are seeing low attendance, largely because the company only offers U.S. sessions in Cupertino. Developers face steep travel costs and strict rules for at-home hardware kits, slowing early app development.
Apple hosts Vision Pro developer labs in several international cities, but these sessions currently see low attendance. According to Bloomberg, the labs remain under-filled with only small numbers of developers showing up to test their visionOS apps with Apple engineers.
The low turnout stems largely from Apple's decision to limit U.S. labs to its Cupertino headquarters. This requires developers on the East Coast to fund their own cross-country travel, creating a significant barrier just to get hands-on time with the headset.
Additional factors contribute to the slow interest, as the visionOS simulator is still new and many apps remain in early development stages. Furthermore, Apple's strict security rules for its limited developer kits make it difficult for smaller teams to participate, even though the device does not launch until early 2024.