US Apple Fans Get Hands on $3,500 Vision Pro 

The Apple Vision Pro headset is displayed in a showroom on the Apple campus after it's unveiling on June 5, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP)
The Apple Vision Pro headset is displayed in a showroom on the Apple campus after it's unveiling on June 5, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP)
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US Apple Fans Get Hands on $3,500 Vision Pro 

The Apple Vision Pro headset is displayed in a showroom on the Apple campus after it's unveiling on June 5, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP)
The Apple Vision Pro headset is displayed in a showroom on the Apple campus after it's unveiling on June 5, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP)

US Apple stores on Friday will start selling the Vision Pro, the tech giant's $3,499 headset and its first major release since the Apple Watch nine years ago.

Vision Pro's release by the world's most iconic device maker is a major milestone for the lovers of virtual or augmented reality, who see the technology as the next chapter in online life after the smartphone.

But with a high sticker price, and the middling success of similar and cheaper releases from Facebook owner Meta, early reviews are unconvincing that the Vision Pro will be a game-changer, at least initially.

The Vision Pro is an "astonishing" product, wrote The Verge, but "also represents a series of really big trade-offs" that are "impossible to ignore."

It is "an impressive product, one that has been many years and billions of dollars in the making" but "even after trying it, I still have no idea whom or what this thing is supposed to be for," wrote The New York Times.

Critics acknowledge a definite "wow" factor, noting its state-of-the-art image and the joy of opening and closing apps floating in space with your eyes and fingers.

However, the headset is heavy, messes up the user's hair and requires a clunky battery pack, they add.

In a big promotional push, Apple CEO Tim Cook on Thursday appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair wearing the Vision Pro.

He drew criticism at a conference in June when he revealed the device without ever trying it on.

Apple refers to the Vision Pro as its first foray into "spatial computing," refusing the term virtual reality, which is typically associated with tech geeks and gamers.

In ads, in addition to streaming movies, users are shown wearing the Vision Pro to work or chat with friends or toggle through apps.

Apple says there are 600 specifically designed apps and games available for the Vision Pro alongside one million compatible apps.

"These incredible apps will change how we experience entertainment, music, and games," said Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of worldwide developer relations.

Disney has partnered with Apple and will provide 150 3D movies at launch, the companies said.

Netflix, Spotify and Google for now have declined to modify their apps specifically for the headset.

The Vision Pro can be tested out by appointment in US Apple stores. That is because the device requires finely-tuned adjustments and some training as "most consumers don't have experience with gesture controls," Forrester Research wrote in a note.

According to analysts from Wedbush Securities, pre-orders have been strong and Apple should expect to sell about 600,000 units this year.

"For Apple the ultimate goal in our opinion is that Vision Pro will work alongside the iPhone and other Apple devices over the coming years," said Dan Ives of Wedbush.



US Defends Law Forcing Sale of TikTok App

This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app TikTok reflected in mirrors. (AFP)
This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app TikTok reflected in mirrors. (AFP)
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US Defends Law Forcing Sale of TikTok App

This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app TikTok reflected in mirrors. (AFP)
This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app TikTok reflected in mirrors. (AFP)

The Justice Department late Friday filed its response to TikTok's civil suit aimed at derailing a law that would force the app to be sold or face a US ban.

TikTok's suit in a Washington federal court argues that the law violates First Amendment rights of free speech.

The US response counters that the law addresses national security concerns, not speech, and that TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance is not able to claim First Amendment rights here.

The filing details concerns that ByteDance could, and would, comply with Chinese government demands for data about US users or yield to pressure to censor or promote content on the platform, senior justice department officials said in a briefing.

"The goal of this law is to ensure that young people, old people and everyone in between is able to use the platform in a safe manner," a senior justice department official said.

"And to use it in a way confident that their data is not ultimately going back to the Chinese government and what they're watching is not being directed by or censored by the Chinese government."

The response argues that the law's focus on foreign ownership of TikTok takes it out of the realm of the First Amendment.

US intelligence agencies are concerned that China can "weaponize" mobile apps, justice department officials said.

"It's clear that the Chinese government has for years been pursuing large, structured datasets of Americans through all sorts of manner, including malicious cyber activity; including efforts to buy that data from data brokers and others, and including efforts to build sophisticated AI models that can utilize that data," a senior justice department official said.

TikTok has said the demanded divestiture is "simply not possible" -- and not on the timeline required.

The bill signed by President Joe Biden early this year set a mid-January 2025 deadline for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a US ban.

The White House can extend the deadline by 90 days.

"For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than one billion people worldwide," said the suit by TikTok and ByteDance.

- TikTok shutdown? -

ByteDance has said it has no plans to sell TikTok, leaving the lawsuit, which will likely go to the US Supreme Court, as its only option to avoid a ban.

"There is no question: the Act will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025," the lawsuit said, "silencing (those) who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere."

TikTok first found itself in the crosshairs of former president Donald Trump's administration, which tried unsuccessfully to ban it.

That effort got bogged down in the courts when a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump's attempt, saying the reasons for banning the app were likely overstated and that free speech rights were in jeopardy.

The new effort signed by Biden was designed to overcome the same legal headaches, and some experts believe the US Supreme Court could be open to allowing national security considerations to outweigh free speech protection.

"We view the statute as a game changer from the arguments that were in play back in 2020," a senior justice department official said.

There are serious doubts that any buyer could emerge to purchase TikTok even if ByteDance would agree to the request.

Big tech's usual suspects, such as Facebook parent Meta or YouTube's Google, will likely be barred from snapping up TikTok over antitrust concerns, and others could not afford one of the world's most successful apps used by about 170 million people in the United States alone.