Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of the Apple Vision Pro launch, which means Apple's $3,500 AR/VR headset has now been available to consumers for a full 365 days.
Over the course of the last year, we've seen numerous reports suggesting that the Vision Pro isn't selling well, which is not a surprise given its high price point. Apple CEO Tim Cook described the Vision Pro as an "early-adopter product" for people who want to have tomorrow's technology today," and the most recent rumors suggest that it might be out of production already.
In October, The Information said that Apple was winding down production of the Vision Pro, with plans to stop making it at the end of 2024. Apple has enough supply to meet demand for now, because Apple apparently plans to make a new version of the Vision Pro as soon as this year.
Apple didn't quite know how the Vision Pro would be received, and its work on a subsequent model seems to be shifting regularly. For that reason, we've heard a lot of mixed rumors about what's next, but we do have some idea of what might be on the horizon.
Vision Pro 2
We started off with rumors about a second-generation Vision Pro, but work on the next-generation headset with a more advanced feature set has apparently been paused so that Apple can work on a more affordable version first.
A Minor Update
It doesn't sound like we're going to get a Vision Pro 2 this year, or at least not a next-generation model with notable improvements, but there could be an incremental update.
Both Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believe that Apple is working on a refresh that includes Apple's upcoming M5 chip, an improvement over the M2 chip in the current model. With the M5 chip, Apple might bring Apple Intelligence features to the Vision Pro, including a more advanced version of Siri.
Right now, Apple Intelligence is limited to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
No other major design changes or feature upgrades are expected for this device, and it will reuse many of the components from the first-generation model to use up any surplus inventory that Apple has. It's not really clear how the M5 chip might change the Vision Pro experience, and a chip upgrade likely isn't going to spur current Vision Pro owners to buy another headset.
There is a possibility that the next Vision Pro could have 5G connectivity with Apple's in-house modem chip, but that is something that the company could also hold for a second-generation model rather than an incremental update.
Low-Cost Model?
Apple wants to make a more affordable version of the Vision Pro that's priced similarly to a high-end iPhone, but it will take some time. Kuo doesn't expect this lower-cost model until 2027 at the earliest, and it could take even longer.
Apple is struggling to cut costs because it doesn't want to compromise the display components. Apple could use a less powerful processor and cheaper materials than aluminum and glass, and it could cut features like the EyeSight display that shows the wearer's eyes.
Rumors suggest that Apple is looking at OLED panels that are up to 2.1 inches in size with a display density of around 1,700 pixels per inch. The Vision Pro has a 1.42-inch display with a ~3,400 pixel density per inch.
Apple Glasses
Apple was developing lightweight augmented reality smart glasses that would be powered by the Mac, but the project was abandoned in January. The glasses would have been the size of standard glasses, with projectors built in to display images to the wearer, but the Mac connection was a dealbreaker.
Apple still hopes to introduce augmented reality glasses one day, but it looks like the company will wait until technology has advanced enough that the glasses won't need to rely on another device for power and battery.
