If you were blown away by the $3,499 price tag of the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset, there’s potentially better news ahead.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is already planning for a more affordable version of the visionOS device that’ll make the headset more accessible to more people.
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“Apple is already at work on a cheaper version of the headset that will help it sell more units,” Gurman wrote in his weekly Power On newsletter. The name Vision Pro even implies there’s a non-Pro version in the works, which one has to assume will be called the Apple Vision or Apple Vision One.”
He believes it’ll be at least two years before Apple releases the new model, he reckons, at the end of 2025 at the soonest. That would give the Vision Pro two years to breathe.
Gurman believes Apple any cheaper version could use lower quality screens than the twin 4K microLED panels within the Vision Pro. It could also use the same chip (by then older), and fewer cameras. He also believes their design could be scaled back, while a refined production process should lead to savings too. He also says there are elements that will reman completely untouched by Apple to protect the integrity of the concept.
“But there are a few areas I believe Apple will not compromise on in a cheaper Apple Vision,” he added. “The external screen, known as EyeSight, to show a wearer’s eyes, as well as the eye- and hand-tracking system, are as core to the Apple Vision as a touchscreen is to an iPhone. I would expect a cheaper model to keep those features.”
There’s also a plans for an even more advanced version of the Vision Pro headset in the works that could launch in-line with the cheaper model, Gurman writes.
