Apple Vision Headset With Cheaper Price Tag in the Works Without EyeSight, Fewer Sensors: Mark Gurman

Apple Vision Pro — the iPhone maker's first spatial computer introduced earlier this year— is likely to be followed by a cheaper model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The Cupertino company is reportedly working on the next versions of the headset and one version could have a much lower price tag than the Apple Vision Pro. In order to keep the price of the spatial computer low, Apple would need to cut some features available on the Vision Pro, Gurman says.

In his weekly newsletter, Gurman states that Apple is already working on the development of a lower-end version of the Vision Pro. The company is moving employees tasked with developing AR glasses — which would be more advanced than the Vision Pro — towards making a cheaper headset,

According to Gurman, Apple plans to price the headset between $1,500 (roughly Rs. 1,24,900) to $2,500 (roughly Rs. 2,08,100) — which is considerably lower than the $3,499 (roughly Rs. 2,91,400) price tag of the Vision Pro.

In order to keep the price of the cheaper Apple Vision headset, the company is likely to exclude a notable cosmetic feature from the Apple Vision Pro — EyeSight. This feature shows a rendition of a user's eyes on the headset's curved OLED external panel, when they are not viewing immersive content on the headset's displays. As a result, the lower-priced Apple Vision headset might not be equipped with this feature.

Aside from dropping support for EyeSight, the company could also reduce the number of external cameras and sensors on the next Apple Vision headset, according to Gurman. Earlier this year, Apple revealed that the Vision Pro is equipped with 14 cameras, a LiDAR scanner, along with IR sensors and LED illuminators — sensors that allow the headset to understand its surroundings and provide a more immersive experience, while also enabling finger-based gesture controls.

Gurman has previously claimed that a cheaper Apple Vision headset was in the works and that the iPhone maker would opt for cost-cutting measures, including the use of a chip used on the iPhone — the Vision Pro is powered by a chip that is as powerful as the Apple Silicon chipsets found on the company's Mac computers — as well as displays with lower resolution. We are likely to hear more about the company's purported headset in the coming months.