The Apple Vision Pro is expected to be the most powerful mixed-reality (or virtual reality) headset to date when it hits the streets early next year. It’ll also be one of the most expensive, with a $3,499 price tag.

But the Vision Pro is very much a first-gen product aimed at developers. Apple watcher Mark Gurman says Apple is already working on a cheaper consumer-oriented headset that could be ready to sell by the end of 2025.

There aren’t a lot of details about that lower-cost headset yet. Since the first model is called the Vision Pro, there’s a good chance the new model could just be called Vision. But we don’t know how much cheaper it will be, or what features Apple will scale back to cut costs.

Gurman has some guesses though:

  • The Vision Pro uses the same M2 chip as Apple’s latest Macs. The Vision headset could use an older or less-powerful iPhone or Mac processor
  • The Vision Pro has dual 4K micro-OLED displays. The Vision headset could have lower-quality screens.
  • The Vision Pro has 12 cameras, six microphones, and five other sensors. The Vision headset could have fewer.
  • The Vision pro has integrated ear pods for spatial audio. The Vision headset could be designed to pair with AirPods or other headphones.

But there are some features that are fundamental to the Apple’s vision for mixed reality, including the user interface, gesture-based controls (which let you use your hands without holding a controller), and an Eyesight external display that shows your eyes to others for (slightly) more natural interactions between people wearing a headset and those who aren’t.

It would be surprising for Apple to ship a consumer-grade headset that didn’t have those features or support for most of the same apps and experiences available in the Vision Pro.

There’s been a lot of speculation about whether the Vision Pro truly marks the next big new product category for Apple or if it will be a big flop despite billions of dollars of research and development. But we probably won’t know for a few more years – it’s the consumer version of Vision headset that will probably make or break things for Apple, not the super-expensive first-gen Vision Pro.

But Apple appears to be in it for the long haul – Gurman reports that the company is already working on a second-gen Vision Pro “with a faster processor.”

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  1. I still really don’t want to have to buy one of these things, even if they get the price below $1000. But while network effects that could force me into it don’t exist now, they could.
    Much of the hype for all the “metaverse” (i.e. any and all multiplayer VR services) came from the governments of the world locking large numbers of people (who worked with abstractions rather than objects) in their homes for a couple of years. The metaverse was supposed to provide a reality substitute for these people, but then the Current Thing changed before the reality substitute became anything pleasant. Since no one is willing to stop that from happening again, it assuredly will, and when it does, they’ll be ready with a significantly improved virtual reality under totalitarian corporate control.
    Getting people to actually use it will require one long and expensive psyop but I don’t think it’s impossible. Especially if they open virtual monitor projection up to Windows and ChromeOS machines (Linux contrarian morons can EAT **** as usual). I didn’t realize this but most VR headsets display text pretty terribly, this one finally displays it well enough to actually use as a monitor.

    Reply

    2. “Getting people to actually use it will require one long and expensive psyop but I don’t think it’s impossible.”

      Oh I can think of a few reasons why this sort of contraption will never go mainstream: cost, lack of time, lack of interest/distaste for immersion, etc.

      I don’t think points like “that’s what the iPod/iPhone/iPad was up against at first, see how far they got” is valid at all; technologically it’s an amazing feat, socially it’s completely out of sync, commercially it will never be more than a niche product for the rich & bored. There’s no use case where VR/AR devices improve things other than for gaming purposes.

      We gotta stop using sci-fi movies/series as a reference point for what the future should be, this is just another 3DTV fad that will die in 2-3 years.

      Reply

  2. Gurman reports that the company is already working on a second-gen Vision Pro “with a faster processor”.

    I would prioritize size and weight.

    Reply