The $3,499 Apple Vision Pro apparently costs $1,509 to make
After years of rumors, Apple's first mixed-reality handset, the Vision Pro, has finally been announced. It will go on sale next year for an eyewatering $3,499 and people who wear glasses can expect to pay anywhere between $300 and $600 on top of that for Zeiss lenses. How much does it cost Apple to make the headset though?
The Vision Pro has an aluminum frame, two 4K screens, 12 cameras, five sensors, six microphones, the M2 chip, and the new R1 chip. According to an alleged bill of materials (BoM) posted on Twitter by leaker @Tech_Reve, the total cost comes in at $1,509.
This means that Apple is charging more than twice what it spent on components.
The most expensive equipment is the Sony display, which costs $700. After that is the assembly cost, which is $130 per unit. The third most expensive part is the M2 chip which costs $120.
A BoM analysis only takes into account the materials and components that were needed to make a product. It doesn't include other costs such as research and development, labor, testing, and quality control.
Early reports suggest that the Vision Pro is one of the most polished AR VR headsets out there but whether it's good enough to get people to buy one remains to be seen.
The AR VR category hasn't garnered much interest. Apple has positioned the Vision Pro as a spatial computer and a 3D camera that blends digital content with the real world but there is nothing it can do that existing devices can't. Sure, it would be cool to have your whole living room as a monitor and Apple was nice enough to incorporate features that ensure you remain in touch with you surroundings, but how many people actually want to live this way? Or is this what we need and we just don't know: an all-in-one device that cuts us off from reality?
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