Upcoming Apple Vision Pros could have active cooling systems

I haven’t experienced any issues, but some folks have complained that the Vision Pro can get a little hot. Future versions could help overcome any issues as evidenced by an Apple patent filing (number US 20240094547 A1) for “Active Cooling for Head-Mounted Display.

About the patent filing

In the patent filing, Apple notes that head-mounted displays can generate heat that causes users discomfort. The tech giant is investigating a Vision Pro that includes a housing, a facial interface coupled to a rear portion of the housing and configured to engage with the face, a component chamber defined in the housing, and a fan located in the component chamber and configured to create air flow from the face through the facial interface and the component chamber.

The fan directs air flow out of the housing via an opening in an upper portion of the housing. The Vision Pro could also have a divider that separates the component chamber from the eye chamber. The divider includes an opening and the fan creates air flow from the face through the facial interface through the opening and into the component chamber. What’s more, the opening could include a fluid regulating component to control a flow of air through the opening between the eye chamber and the component chamber, as well as a filter configured to filter the air flow from the face to the component chamber.

Summary of the patent filing

Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “A head-mounted display configured to be worn on a face includes a housing, a facial interface coupled to a rear portion of the housing and configured to engage with the face, a component chamber defined in the housing, and a fan located in the component chamber and configured to create air flow from the face through the facial interface and the component chamber.”

About the Vision Pro

Demos of the Apple Vision Pro at Apple Stores in the U.S. can be reserved on Apple.com. To reserve a free Vision Pro demo online, go here, then follow the steps to book an appointment at your local Apple Store. 

Pricing for the Vision Pro starts at US$3,499 with 256GB of storage. ZEISS Optical Inserts are available: $99 for reading lens and $149 for prescription lens.