Restructuring measures in Apple’s Vision division: According to insiders, Apple is changing the priority of several projects in its spatial computing department. The main purpose of this is to accelerate work on cheaper glasses. This means that a “Vision” (without Pro) could appear before the “Vision Pro 2”, which was already in the works.
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need an inexpensive headset
The prices of entry into the – technically quite impressive – Vision world are currently very high. In the United States, customers pay $3,499 plus tax for the entry-level model; in Germany, when sales start in July, they pay exactly 3,999 euros. The target group that can afford such a device is accordingly smaller. It was therefore already a foregone conclusion that Apple wanted to take a two-pronged approach – i.e. with a more expensive Pro model and a cheaper standard Vision. However, it remained unclear which of these projects was important for the company.
As Silicon Valley trade journal The Information writes this week, work on the Vision Pro 2 was initially shelved. The reason is that the team Focus on the obviously cheaper option Work on it apparently began in 2022 with the internal code name N109. The goal is to achieve a price that is roughly the same as a more expensive iPhone, i.e. above $1,500. A complete prototype is apparently not yet available, but employees are currently encouraged to find alternatives to the very expensive Vision Pro hardware and reduce component prices. One supplier was informed that they must initially interrupt work on the Vision Pro 2.
Apple does not provide any sales figures
It is currently unclear how many Vision Pro models Apple has sold so far. The division is part of the “Other” sector and is therefore not explicitly stated in the quarterly figures. There was recent speculation that Apple has reduced orders for components; reportedly 500,000 Vision Pro models have been made so far – out of a maximum possible 800,000 to 1 million units (according to information from the supply chain).
The repurposing is actually good news for those interested in Apple’s spatial computing: if the price of the new Vision were halved, it could attract entirely new target groups. The Vision Pro is currently significantly more expensive than other virtual reality headsets, such as Meta’s Quest 3.
(B.Sc.)
