Rumors have been flying about a successor to Apple Vision Pro ever since its release in February of this year. Apple entering the XR (Extended Reality) industry has got fans and enthusiasts buzzing about Mixed Reality. And now a report indicates that Apple is reaching out to LG and Samsung to ask how lower resolution displays could be manufactured for a new headset.
The report — by Korean Electronics Industry Media — alleges that Apple is asking about “technology-related information” for new displays. These displays will be around two inches wide with a PPI (pixels per inch) of 1,700. Such small displays can be safely assumed to be for an XR device: the displays on the Vision Pro are 1.42 inches with a PPI of 3,391 according to the report.
LG and Samsung are also known for their excellent displays. And the two companies are even in a five-year partnership regarding buying and selling their displays. According to previous reports regarding Vision Pro 2 supply chain news, Apple has been on the hunt for an alternative supplier for displays. This is presumably because Sony’s Micro-OLED displays, though fantastic, are very expensive. Sony also can’t produce a lot of them in a single year.
Understandably, the Vision Pro is a result of many high-quality parts coming together. | Video credit — Apple
And Apple is continuing this trend with the international pricing of Vision Pro. So it is absolutely crucial, in my opinion, that Apple releases a cheaper Vision Pro. Otherwise, the company’s headset might be doomed to remain a very niche product that almost no one wants to pay for.
How do these new displays compare?
Reading the specifications of the displays Apple is asking for, one can’t help but wonder how much it would affect the visual quality. The Vision Pro’s displays are one of the headset’s best features. Micro-OLED looks fantastic according to practically everyone who’s used a Vision Pro and the resolution is very good too.
But if you increase a 1.42 inch display to a size of about 2 inches and then reduce the PPI from 3,391 to 1,700, the visual fidelity is sure to take a hit. And that might just be a necessary sacrifice to bring down the cost of Apple’s headset. Once people get a feel for Mixed Reality, they’ll probably want to shell out for the more expensive offerings.
Because according to a survey, only 25 percent of people have used VR, but those who have keep coming back for more. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said that Vision Pro has a profound effect on people using it for the first time. And I still think that’s because they were using an XR headset for the first time in general.
These crowds at Vision Pro's launch in Asia are proof that people are excited to see what it's all about. | Image credit — Apple
There are other ways a successor to the Vision Pro could be made cheaper. Bloomberg insider Mark Gurman has thought of some steps Apple could take to produce a cheaper Vision Pro. One of those was, indeed, using lower-resolution displays. Another method he mentioned was to remove the exterior EyeSight display, which shows your virtual face to people.
I wish Apple success in getting some market share in the XR industry, especially because I would love for the industry to see more competition. But I highly doubt Apple’s cheaper headset will be as cheap as the rumored Meta Quest 3S.
Then again, both will be very different headsets geared towards very different use cases.
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Abdullah is an ardent believer in the future of VR, and can't wait to see what more it brings to the table as technology improves. He enjoys covering new software releases in the XR industry, as well as major news about hardware and companies focused on VR.
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