The Apple Vision Pro Travel Case is described by Apple as having “a retractable handle and specially designed compartments for your battery, ZEISS Optical Inserts, Apple Vision Pro Cover, and additional accessories.”
The exterior of the Apple Vision Pro Travel Case uses a material reminiscent of a windbreaker and loosely covers the polycarbonate protective structure. Apple refers to this white covering as “Ripstop,” defined by Wikipedia as “a woven fabric, often made of nylon, using a reinforcing technique that makes it more resistant to tearing and wear.” The case is printed on one side with the words “Apple Vision Pro” in light gray in Apple’s San Francisco font.
The outer retractable handle is light gray and borders the entire upper curve of the case. When not in use, it hugs tightly to the contour of the case.
The interior of the Apple Vision Pro Travel Case is lined with microfiber in a color and texture similar to Apple’s infamous polishing cloth. The Apple Vision Pro fits perfectly in the case and includes a velcro strap to securely hold the battery. A white circular drawstring bag fits in the space in the open area between the front of the headset and the headband.
The Apple Vision Pro Travel Case measures 11.69 inches tall, 8.78 inches high, and 6.5 inches deep.
The Verge offered: “The huge case costs an additional $199 and looks like a marshmallow from space. I love it.” I concur wholeheartedly that the case looks like a marshmallow from space, and add that it would pair well with a NASA or SpaceX spacesuit.
For the past few years I have been photographing and cataloging my Apple Collection and posting on this blog. The exercise has allowed me to both showcase and inventory my collection. Occasionally, such as in this case, I discover a detail I’ve neither seen nor heard in another source.
I recently acquired several new Apple Watch bands of different types. Among them, I decided to splurge on my very first (and likely last) Apple Watch Hermès item for my collection—the Apple Watch Hermès 45 mm Navy Single Tour Band. Having never unboxed or photographed an Apple/Hermès product, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Typical Apple Watch bands (and Apple Watch Nike bands) arrive in a white (or black) cardboard box with a detailed illustration on the front showing the band’s design. The box can be opened by pulling the green arrow icon to break the tape seal, and the box opens at the side. A tabbed, folded insert is then slid out, and when unfolded, the band is held in place by die-cut cardboard. Instructions are printed on the cardboard insert for putting the band on an Apple Watch.
A typical Apple Watch Sport Loop cardboard insert.
The Apple Watch Hermès packaging is decidedly more posh. The outside of the box is covered in a clear plastic wrap similar to the wrap on some Apple product boxes (such as the original HomePod and the iPad Pro). The plastic includes a tab with a white arrow to indicate which way to peel off the outer protective layer. Under the plastic, the orange Hermès box is sturdy, heavy, and textured. The lid of the box lifts off, and this is where my surprise began.
Outside and inside the Apple Watch Hermès packaging.
Inside, the Apple Watch Hermès band is not in cardboard, but enrobed in a luxurious microfiber pouch with a familiar texture and configuration. I removed the cloth pouch from the box and opened it to find that one side contained cardboard and paper inserts with information, and the other side was divided in half with each side containing one piece of the watch band.
The luxury microfiber pouch in the Apple Watch Hermès box.
Upon closer inspection, the pouch appears to be made from the same material as the now famous Apple Polishing Cloth, the $19 cloth that enjoyed about a month of media hype in 2021. Apple had begun selling the Polishing Cloth as an accessory and the cloth quickly went out of stock due to apparently high demand. You can read more about this story here. In addition to the similar look and feel of the material, the edge construction of the pouch also appears identical to the Apple Polishing Cloth. While the Apple/Hermès logotype appears to be both embossed and printed with brown ink, the Apple logo on the Apple Polishing Cloth is only embossed.
The Apple Watch Hermès pouch and Apple Polishing Cloth compared.
The colors of the two items are different—the Apple Polishing Cloth is light gray, while the Apple Watch Hermès pouch is a shade of greige (gray+beige). The two materials feel identical to the touch, both in the cloth area and in the more dense edges that are presumably joined by an adhesive and pressure to create a finished look and feel with edges rounded in Bézier curves.
As a result of this unboxing and photo session, I believe that I identified Apple’s signal for their truly high-end products—the presence of Apple’s “luxury microfiber.” See my Apple Watch Hermès band blog entry here. If anyone has additional information about this microfiber material or has seen it used in other Apple products, please contact me!
Post Script: As I suspected, the French-made Apple Watch Hermès Single Tour Band does not fit my American-made wrist. This is far from a tragedy, as I am happy to have this one example for my collection. Just do not expect to see me wearing my Hermès band on the yacht, at the country club, or in the stables.*
*Please note that do not I engage in these activities.
Beginning in the mid-2000s, some iMac models shipped with an “official” cleaning cloth that was referenced in the iMac manual:
“Cleaning Your iMac Display. Use the cloth that came with your iMac to clean the display… Dampen the cloth that came with your iMac, or another clean, soft, lint-free cloth, with water only and wipe the screen. Do not spray liquid directly on the screen.”
This version of the cleaning cloth is black microfiber with an Apple logo embossed in the center edge of one side. The packaging places the embossed Apple logo in the corner due to the manner in which the cloth is folded in its clear envelope-style package.
