Is Apple's Vision Pro branding already in trouble?
Looks like Huawei had the vision first.
Apple's Vision Pro has been afforded plenty of column inches over the last week, with the $3,499 AR headset (potentially) set to make waves in the new world of 'spatial computing'. But Apple might already be facing one minor hiccup – is the name Vision Pro already taken?
In China, it turns out smartphone manufacturer Huawei owns the "Vision Pro" trademark, and has done since 2019. Which could mean Apple is forced to rebrand the device overseas – or pay a hefty amount to release the trademark. (In the market for new gear? Check out the best iPhone 14 deals available now.)
As spotted by Patently Apple, Huawei currently has "exclusive rights of trademark use from November 28, 2021, to November 27, 2031" for the name Vision Pro. And Huawei already sells a few products under the Vision name, including its Vision S Smart TV.
While it seems unlikely that Apple would have announced the Vision Pro name without knowing that the name belonged to Huawei in China, it could prove costly. As MacRumors points out, Apple has paid a Chinese company for a product name before, shelling out a whopping $60M to buy the Chinese rights to the iPad name from Proview Technology in 2012.
Still, as one of the world's richest companies, Apple can probably afford to take the financial hit of securing the name. Time will tell with Vision Pro will indeed change the game and finally drive VR into the mainstream – in the meantime, we have mixed feelings about the thing (although the internet seems to unanimously find it pretty hilarious).
Get the Creative Bloq Newsletter
Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of art, design, branding and lifestyle tech (which often translates to tech made by Apple). He joined in 2020 after working in copywriting and digital marketing with brands including ITV, NBC, Channel 4 and more.
Related articles
- "SpongeBob's world is inherently funny": How Outright Games turned Bikini Bottom into an explorable 3D world for PS5
- How to turn a 2D concept into an incredible 3D-printed figure
- New Nvidia ACE plugins for Unreal Engine 5 simplify the creation of AI digital humans
- Newly released Apple Developer videos on YouTube are a treasure trove of design insights