Apple is canceling the development of the second generation of its Vision Pro headset in favor of developing an affordable model of Vision Pro. This move was made as part of Apple’s greater plan to get more consumers running its more advanced AR/VR technologies.
Revised the pricing for the Vision Pro to $3,500; from the market demand, Apple has had to rethink their approach. Its price restricts its appeal towards the majority of customers. The company decided to work on an affordable variant. This will let Apple get more penetration in the market with an affordable option and ‘pulldown’ some of those critical features from Vision Pro.
It has been seeking new suppliers for such critical components as micro-OLED displays to be used in the production of these much cheaper headsets. Expanding the ranks of suppliers would help boost production volumes and trim costs, though it’s a challenge to manufacture high-quality displays at mass market numbers.
By suspending the Vision Pro 2 project, Apple can give more resources and time to this new, cheaper model in hopes of greater market appeal. This shift is also in line with Apple’s long-term outlook on expanding its AR/VR ecosystem, as well as maintaining competitiveness in the rapidly changing technology world.
Even though Apple has shifted gears a little, it will mostly be working on other next-generation models for Vision Pro and remain dedicated to the progression of its AR/VR technology. Instead, development on the original Vision Pro and its ecosystem, along with new developer tools, will not be affected.
This epitomizes Apple’s flexibility and responsiveness to market dynamics in the thrust toward ensuring relevance and accessibility of their innovative products to a diffuse customer base. The customer who utilizes the manifold fantastic features that Apple has rolled out for the Vision Pro in AR/VR technology will have a more affordable option with a new model that is put out at a much more economical price by the end of 2025.
