To roll out its new mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, Apple devised a plan almost as intricate as the device itself. In January 2024, hundreds of retail employees were summoned to Cupertino for secretive training sessions. Nondisclosure agreements and GPS-blocking Faraday bags ensured secrecy, but once the novelty wore off, so did their enthusiasm.

Employees like Megen Leigh, a longtime Apple employee in Ohio who flew to California for the training, described it as ‘genuinely the coolest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.’ Yet, back at stores, salespeople faced an uphill battle. Limited practice time and understaffing hindered their ability to deliver effective demonstrations.

The Vision Pro rollout was a fiasco in many stores. Demos hinged on complex setup processes, heavy and uncomfortable weight, limited app offerings, and poor video call capabilities. Apple sold fewer than 500,000 units compared with the millions of iPhones it sells annually.

This debacle highlighted how far Apple’s retail stores have strayed from Steve Jobs’ original vision. Jobs insisted on lavish real estate and a warm, futuristic aesthetic to evangelize his simple yet powerful tools. However, the focus on store extravagances may have overlooked the human element: whether employees could deliver the transformative experience Jobs envisioned.