Apple planning to make cheaper Vision Pro headset by dropping features, report claims

Apple announced its augmented reality platform this June – for $3,500

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Apple is planning a cheaper version of its upcoming Vision Pro headset, according to reports – though it will still be far from cheap.

The company announced its Vision Pro in June, starting at $3,500, and said that it would be coming in early 2024. Immediately, many noticed that the inclusion of the “Pro” in the name suggested that a cheaper version might also be on its way.

Now new reports suggest that cheaper headset will cost as much as $2,500. The company is aiming for a price of $1,500 to $2,500, according to a new report from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.

That would still be considerably more expensive than other augmented reality headsets. The new Meta Quest 3, for instance, starts at $499, and the company has suggested that its lower price is one of the key ways it aims to compete with Apple.

To make it cheaper, Apple is aiming to drop one of the key features from the Vision Pro, known as EyeSight. That is a screen that shows a virtual version of the wearer’s eyes on the front of the headset, to make conversations more natural and to give a sense of what the person is doing on the inside.

The cheaper headset is also rumoured to include a cheaper processor – likely one from the iPhone, rather than the Mac chip that powers the Vision Pro – as well as fewer cameras and a less high-quality display.

Apple has moved resources towards building the cheaper version, Mr Gurman reported in his Bloomberg newsletter. That has also meant moving staff away from devoted the augmented reality glasses that have been assumed to be the end goal of Apple’s work in headsets, but which he suggested had proven “too technically challenging” so far.