In the latest edition of his “Power On” newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple is looking to make a future iteration of the Vision Pro more comfortable to wear — with a smaller and lighter design.
Currently, it weighs about a pound. Apple is reportedly considering addressing this on the first model with an over-the-head strap.
“The company’s first headset, the Vision Pro, has caused neck strain in testing due to its size and weight,” he writes. “That could turn off consumers already wary of mixed-reality headsets, which meld virtual and augmented reality.”
The first version of the US$3,400 (and up) “Spatial Computer” is due in early 2024. However, it will apparently only be available in limited quantities at first.
Furman says that, at Apple, software and operations employees are preparing the Vision Pro for its debut. The hardware itself has been ready to go for months, letting the Vision Products Group — the team behind the device — move on to next-generation models. Gurman says the company is considering multiple options, including a lower-end model and a more powerful version.
In addition to weight, another challenge is making the Vision Pro simpler for folks who wear glasses. During development of the first Vision Pro, Apple decided to slim down the device by omitting room for prescription eyeglasses. Instead, the company teamed up with Zeiss to sell prescription lenses that attach to the headset’s displays magnetically.
However, Gurman says the process of offering thousands of different lens combinations has proven to be a headache for Apple’s operations teams. Apple’s possible solution: shipping custom-built headsets from the factory with preinstalled prescription lenses.
“That might simplify the experience for customers, but it also would bring fresh problems,” Gurman notes. “First, built-in prescription lenses could make Apple a health provider of sorts. The company may not want to deal with that. Also, that level of customization would make it harder for consumers to share a headset or resell it. And, of course, a user’s vision prescription could change over time.”
This info from Gurman is from the free edition of “Power On”. If you like it, consider subscribing to Bloomberg.com—you’ll receive the newsletter earlier and get exclusive access to a Q&A section.
Meanwhile, in Medium post, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple may have canceled plans for a low-cost Vision Pro.
“Unless Apple significantly reduces the price of Vision Pro, the anticipated significant shipment growth in Vision Pro shipments starting in 2025 may not materialize,” Kuo writes. “The Vision Pro 2 could enter mass production by the first half of 2027 at the latest, suggesting there may be no hardware updates for the Vision Pro in the coming years.”
He adds that, based on some component suppliers’ maximum production capacity estimates, Vision Pro shipments in 2024 will be at most 400,000–600,000 units, which is less than the market expectation of more than 1 million units.
“From a technical point of view, I believe that the Vision Pro will undoubtedly provide users with an excellent experience,” Kuo writes. “However, the question is why users need this product. The Vision Pro may take longer than the market expects to become the next star product of the iPhone.”
