Apple Vision Pro on display at Apple Park. Image credit: Apple
Apple Vision Pro may get an M5 upgrade in 2025, but the expected lower-price headset has been delayed, and may offload processing to the iPhone to cut costs.
Ming-Chi Kuo says that production of an all-new version of the Apple Vision Pro has been pushed back to “beyond 2027.” He claims that the current existing model will be replaced with an identical one upgraded to an M5 processor in 2025.
As I understand it, production of the cheaper Vision Pro has been delayed beyond 2027 for a while now. This means Apple’s only new head-mounted display device in 2025 will be the Vision Pro with an upgraded M5 processor.
I think what really drove Apple to delay the cheaper
— (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) November 3, 2024
He says that Apple has chosen to delay a rumored less-expensive Apple Vision Pro due to reasoning that “simply reducing the price wouldn’t help create successful use cases.” Apple has also struggled with attracting rapid development of apps and experiences for the headset.
Kuo likened the thinking at Apple to the company’s experience with the HomePod line. “Even after launching the cheaper HomePod mini, Apple’s smart speakers failed to become mainstream products,” he said.
Kuo does not say whether this news comes from his industry sources, or is once again solely his extrapolation from his experience covering Apple.
However, his projection about plans being revamped for the lower cost Apple Vision Pro is backed up by a Bloomberg report. That report claims that Apple is “seriously considering” developing a cheaper “Apple Vision” headset that offloads most if not all of the computing duties to the user’s iPhone. Such a device might look more like existing AR smart glasses.
