Should You Cross-Border Shop for Apple’s Vision Pro?

Apple’s Vision Pro went up for pre-order in the US today to much fanfare as early adopters lined up digitally at 5 a.m. PT to get their hands on Apple’s highly anticipated mixed-reality headset.

Unfortunately, those of us outside of the US will have to wait at least a few more months before we can get our hands on a Vision Pro — at least from an Apple Store in our own countries.

This may leave folks traveling to the US in the coming weeks tempted to pick up a Vision Pro from the US and take it home. That may be an even more enticing proposition for many Canadians, where it’s only a two-hour drive from major cities like Toronto or Vancouver to Buffalo or Seattle.

While it used to be common in the early days of the iPhone and iPad, it’s been quite a while since Apple launched a significant new product exclusively in the US. The original 2007 iPhone was exclusively available in the US on AT&T for most of its life, and subsequent iPhone models were often launched in the US several weeks before they came to other countries. The original 2010 iPad was also a US-only affair at launch. However, in recent years, most of Apple’s products have been available in dozens, if not hundreds, of countries around the world at launch. The Vision Pro changes that.

Can I Buy a Vision Pro While Visiting the US?

The good news is that there’s nothing that should prevent you from grabbing a Vision Pro while you’re visiting the United States. You’ll have to visit an Apple Store either to buy one or have it shipped to a friend or family member, but your money is as good as anyone else’s as far as Apple is concerned.

However, you may not want to bother unless you have 20/20 vision or wear soft contact lenses that aren’t cosmetic or monoscopic since you won’t be able to order the ZEISS Optical Inserts without a vision prescription written by a US eye care professional. Those inserts can also only be shipped to a US address.

Taking it home with you may be slightly more complicated, depending on where you live and what the trade agreements are like. Canadians will likely have to at least pony up the usual import fees — mostly federal and provincial taxes — but other countries may have higher or more complicated duties and tariffs.

Can I Use the Vision Pro in Another Country?

So, we’ve answered the “can you” part of the question, but the more important part is should you?

The Vision Pro is designed to be used abroad by US residents who travel with it, so it should work great nearly anywhere in the world. However, most non-US residents will encounter some limitations that could make it an exercise in frustration.

1. The Vision Pro only supports US English at this point. Apple is reportedly working to localize it for other regions, but that won’t come until it’s ready to launch in those countries. Right now, it’s US English or nothing, and that encompasses typing, Siri, Dictation, and more. That won’t be a huge setback for English-speaking countries like Canada, Australia, and the UK, but don’t expect to be able to use it if English isn’t your first language.
2. You’ll have a tricky time getting third-party apps onto the Vision Pro. Currently, the Vision Pro App Store is only available in the US, so it requires an Apple ID with a region set to the US to download and purchase apps.
   
   Those of us Canucks who hopped across the border to get the first iPad in 2010 may remember what that was like. The iPad App Store was in the same situation at launch, so getting apps installed required setting up a US-based account, and purchasing apps required a valid US payment method, such as Apple Gift Cards purchased from a US Apple Store.
   
   Note that if you do go this route, switching your Apple ID to the US App Store is generally a bad idea — and it may not even be possible if you subscribe to any Apple services. It’s far better to set up a second Apple ID; however, keep in mind that you’ll be limited to downloading free apps unless you can supply a valid US credit card, debit card, or gift card.
3. Some free apps may not work outside of the US. Apple notes that “customers may not be able to access certain apps, features, or content due to licensing or other restrictions in those countries or regions.”
4. This naturally extends to purchases in the Vision Pro Apple Music and TV apps, so forget about buying any of those cool new immersive 3D movies that Apple has talked about unless you have a US credit or debit card available or stock up on Apple Gift cards while you’re in the US.
5. Lastly, Apple support for the Vision Pro is only available in the US, so if you have any problems with your headset, you’ll need to return to the US to get it fixed.

While those restrictions aren’t as bad as the original 2007 iPhone, which was locked to AT&T and therefore virtually unusable outside of the US without resorting to “hacktivation” techniques (I speak from experience here), $3,500 is a lot of money to spend on what will essentially be a limited product outside of the US.

Fortunately, Apple is working to bring the Vision Pro to several other countries as soon as it can, starting with Canada and the UK. If rumors are true, it might even arrive elsewhere before June’s Worldwide Developers Conference.