Apple has reportedly canceled Vision Pro 2, but there’s still hope
In a report that may not sound too surprising to those who’ve kept up with Apple’s XR (Extended Reality) headset, work on an Apple Vision Pro 2 has been canceled. However, the company is allegedly still working on a cheaper successor that will ship with less features.
The Vision Pro, despite being one of the best AR headsets on the market, faced numerous challenges appealing to consumers and even diehard VR enthusiasts. One of the biggest reasons was its cost: a mind-blowing $3,499.
As such, the headset reportedly had production slowed down due to poor sales less than three months after launch. There were also reports that Apple had made significant changes to its HMD (head-mounted display) roadmap. And now, a new report from an insider in the supply chain for Apple’s headset claims Apple has notified them about halting work on a successor.
The Vision Pro, despite being one of the best AR headsets on the market, faced numerous challenges appealing to consumers and even diehard VR enthusiasts. One of the biggest reasons was its cost: a mind-blowing $3,499.
The Apple Vision Pro should be good for many years to come, I think.
However, this does not mean Apple is withdrawing from the XR industry. WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) 2024 started with the announcement of visionOS 2, the biggest update for Vision Pro yet. So Apple is still going full steam ahead for its XR plans. And the report also claims that Apple is still working on a cheaper headset.
This will presumably be accomplished by removing some features present in the Vision Pro. Hugo Barra, former Head of Oculus at Meta, called the Vision Pro an over-engineered devkit. I personally think simply cutting down on the aluminum and glass build, in addition to removing the exterior screen, will help reduce costs by a lot.
This cheaper successor is probably going to follow Apple’s business model for the MacBooks. Hence, this headset might be named Vision Air or something similar. And I suspect we’ll get a Vision Pro 2 a few years down the line when Apple has found its footing in the industry.
Our Apple Vision Pro review called it a fantastic headset that most people can’t justify purchasing. And that trend seems to be continuing with Vision Pro’s international pricing. If Apple truly wants to establish itself in the XR industry, it needs to compete with cheaper alternatives like the Meta Quest 3.
This will presumably be accomplished by removing some features present in the Vision Pro. Hugo Barra, former Head of Oculus at Meta, called the Vision Pro an over-engineered devkit. I personally think simply cutting down on the aluminum and glass build, in addition to removing the exterior screen, will help reduce costs by a lot.
This cheaper successor is probably going to follow Apple’s business model for the MacBooks. Hence, this headset might be named Vision Air or something similar. And I suspect we’ll get a Vision Pro 2 a few years down the line when Apple has found its footing in the industry.
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