Apple’s Vision Pro, despite advanced technologies, has not performed successfully in the commercial market.
According to ETNA quoting Phonearena, the very high price of $3,499, heavy weight and some costly features have made this headset insufficiently attractive for a large portion of users. Apple now apparently is changing its priorities for the future of this product.
According to a report by Mark Gurman, the Vision Pro development team at Apple is reviewing four different conceptual designs. One of the main goals of these designs is to build a lighter and cheaper headset. One idea is to use a design similar to Meta’s VR glasses that places the battery, processor and storage in a separate unit. Conversely, another group still advocates an integrated design to provide a simpler user experience.
Apple is also testing various materials such as plastic, titanium and other metals. Greater use of lighter materials could reduce the headset’s weight while lowering production costs. Removing some nonessential features is also a possible option. For example, the external EyeSight display that shows the user’s face to bystanders may be removed in a cheaper version; however this is not yet certain.
However, it seems unlikely that a new generation of Vision Pro will be released in the near future. Apple is currently focusing more on developing display-less smart glasses; a product similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses. If these glasses receive broad adoption, the possibility of disbanding the Vision Pro team has even been raised.
Gurman believes that if a new generation of Apple’s headset is released, it likely will not arrive until late 2028 or even 2029. By then, the XR and Mixed Reality market may have undergone many changes, making Vision Pro’s future even more uncertain.