As I understand it, production of the cheaper Vision Pro has been delayed beyond 2027 for a while now. This means Apple's only new head-mounted display device in 2025 will be the Vision Pro with an upgraded M5 processor.
I think what really drove Apple to delay the cheaper…
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) November 3, 2024
Apple is reportedly exploring a more affordable version of its $3,500 Vision Pro headset that would use the iPhone for computing power. This development comes as the company seeks to create more accessible vision devices by incorporating scaled-down technologies, such as a less advanced chip, to appeal to a broader audience. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is seriously considering a device that offloads the computing components to an iPhone and serves as an accessory for watching movies.
NEW: Apple is exploring a push into smart glasses with an internal study of products currently on the market, setting the stage for the company to follow Meta into an increasingly popular category. https://t.co/w8D70om9L5
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) November 4, 2024
This concept is similar to the glasses offered by companies like Xreal, which resemble regular eyeglasses with a thick frame. Apple executive Greg Joswiak acknowledged in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the $3,500 Vision Pro is primarily an early-adopter product and not targeted at the mass market. In contrast, devices like Meta’s Quest 3 cost around $500, and other similar devices are even cheaper.
This is so cool 😍🔥
Apple Vision Pro + visionOS 2.2 Beta pic.twitter.com/RBOv0mmqOV
— Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin) November 4, 2024
Apple’s approachable Vision Pro integration
New designs for Apple’s Vision lineup could help the company attract new customers looking for a more affordable or lighter, sleeker wearable. Integrating the device with the iPhone could also help reinforce Apple’s ecosystem by keeping the iPhone at its center.
A cheaper Apple Vision headset has been delayed until 2027, according to @mingchikuo 🥽
It was supposed to be released in 2025, but Apple realized that simply lowering the price without a compelling use case wouldn't be enough for it to succeed. pic.twitter.com/yXaZVfYjFu
— AppleTrack (@appltrack) November 4, 2024
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently noted that the production of a lower-cost Vision model seems to be delayed beyond 2027, suggesting that simply reducing the price might not create successful use cases. He compared the situation to Apple’s HomePod, which failed to become a mainstream product even after launching the cheaper HomePod mini. Bloomberg also reported last month that Apple is planning to compete with Meta’s Ray-Ban models by investing some of the billion-dollar R&D funds from the Vision Pro into developing something with greater mainstream appeal.
Apple has not yet responded to requests for comments on this story. As the company continues to explore new possibilities in the augmented reality space, it remains to be seen how they will balance affordability and functionality to create a product that appeals to a wider audience.
