Apple’s first crack at the Vision Pro delivered, to put it politely, mixed results. While it turned heads with its technical wizardry, most of us couldn’t justify spending $3500/£3500 on a face computer that also gave you a sore neck. Fortunately, it seems Apple has finally clocked on that pricing out most of your potential customers might not be the savviest business move.
According to a new report from Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, the tech giant is tinkering away on two new versions of the Vision Pro headset. One of these models is apparently aimed at power users with a Mac tether and plenty of bells and whistles. But the other is slated to be cheaper and lighter – and that’s really caught my attention.
Apple expected to sell around 700000 to 800000 Vision Pro units in the first year. The actual number sold was just shy of 500000 units. The main reason? Price. Which is why Apple seems to be pivoting. This “more affordable” Vision Pro follow-up is rumoured to tackle both the cost and comfort issues. There’s no word on pricing yet, but the mere suggestion that it’ll be cheaper has me (and probably a lot of other people) perking up.
Of course, there’s also the other model in the works. This one is aimed at enterprise folks who apparently need ultra-low latency for things like flight sims and medical imaging. I can’t be the only one that thinks this sounds like the Microsoft HoloLens? It’ll connect directly to a Mac, which sounds practical if not particularly sexy. It’s the kind of headset you’ll likely find in a lab or cockpit, not someone’s living room.
While both of these upgraded devices sound great, Apple is still going full steam ahead with its big vision: smart glasses. We know they’ll likely pack Siri and built-in cameras, chasing the whole “subtle wearable AI” vibe. Meta’s already playing in that sandbox with its Ray-Bans, so Apple clearly wants in. Just don’t expect those anytime soon – they’re likely years off.
For now, though, all eyes are on this budget-friendly Vision Pro. If Apple can manage to make it remotely affordable and wearable without giving up too much of the magic, it might just rescue its floundering XR ambitions. I, for one, am hoping they pull it off. No official word on release dates yet, but there’s a whisper we might see the new headsets announced by the end of the year.
