Having launch earlier this year with an eye - watering $ 3,499 toll tag , Apple’sVision Pro headsethasn’t shift a lot of unit … and was never really expected to , given its obviously limited budgetary appeal . In the farsighted term , however , Apple wants to target more mainstream consumers with its spatial computation chopine , and that entail incur a means to get the toll of the headsets down .
mighty now , the precedence of Cupertino ’s Vision Products Group ( VPG ) is to develop a loud successor to Vision Pro , presently codenamed N107 . But anew reportfrom Bloomberg newsperson Mark Gurman reveals the difficulties which VPG has been grappling with to make that production a reality and the slow pace at which succeeding Vision products are likely to launch .
In a nutshell , the issue is that Vision Pro is expensive with good reasonableness : it ’s an exceptionally well - specced part of hardware bundle full of premium cutting - border technical school . And compromise in any of the obvious areas will result in pregnant reductions in the character of the user experience , which ride at the mettle of how Apple trust to win over people to make the intimidating move into spatial computing . Gurman relate to these decision as “ difficult business deal - offs . ”
Apple may need to dial back the quality and features in Vision Pro’s successor to bring the price down.
Apple may need to dial back the quality and feature in Vision Pro ’s successor to bring the toll down .
Foundry
Apple , for example , could entirely remove the EyeSight exterior display , but that would mean losing the feature that shows users ’ eyes to other people – an imperfect but important measure to battle the potentially antisocial nature of fully enclosed headset . Or Apple could dial back the power of the central processor or the timber of passthrough visuals , each of which would make for a less immersive and compelling experience . And while the monetary value would be lour by these stride , it would still likely cost multiples of rival equipment ( “ At $ 1,500 , the product would be three times as much as rival equipment from Meta , ” Gurman calculates ) while no longer offering the state - of - the - nontextual matter apparatus of Vision Pro .
Apple may need to dial back the quality and features in Vision Pro’s successor to bring the price down.
instead the equipment could have a narrow plain of vision , or be tether to a comrade iPhone or Mac . Neither of those changes sound sympathetic , but they ’re both approach currently being taken with image unit of measurement at Cupertino .
And this is the conundrum Apple face . With Vision Pro , the company is essay to trade the hereafter , but the only way of life it can come close to delivering an approximation of that future tense using today ’s technology is by spending big on the very good components . Spatial computing is n’t really ready yet , but it will only become ready if customers show an interest and investor put money behind the concept . And to generate customer interest , Apple needs a compelling offer now .
For the lower - cost version of the headset , “ now ” is simply too soon . Apple desire to bring Vision ( minus the Pro ) to market at the end of 2025 , still 18 months away , and plans may have to change between now and then . If that go distant , keep in intellect that the mellow - end successor to Vision Pro ( codenamed N109 ) is n’t expected to make it until the end of 2026at the earliest . And Gurman reckons the bruit 2027 launch of Apple ’s slimline augmented realness glass is too affirmative .
Apple is playing the recollective game , in other words . But it has to hope the securities industry does n’t turn to rival offering in the meanwhile .
