Apple Vision Pro Successor in Development, Cheaper Model to Release by End of 2025: Mark Gurman

Apple's cheaper AR/VR headset could feature the EyeSight external display and offer hand and eye tracking features found on the Apple Vision Pro.

Written by David Delima, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 12 June 2023 11:08 IST

Apple Vision Pro Successor in Development, Cheaper Model to Release by End of 2025: Mark Gurman

Photo Credit: Apple

Apple Vision Pro will be available for purchase in the US next year

Highlights

Apple Vision Pro was unveiled at WWDC 2023
A second-generation headset and a cheaper model could be in development
Apple could withhold features to reduce the price of the cheaper model

Apple Vision Pro was unveiled last week at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, but the company is reportedly already at work on a successor. Months before customers will be able to purchase Apple's first AR/VR spatial computer, the firm is also said to be working on a more affordable version of the Apple Vision Pro headset that could arrive a year after the first-generation device goes on sale. The successor to the Vision Pro is tipped to feature a faster processor that offers improved performance.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman states in his weekly Power On newsletter that the Cupertino company is working on a successor to the Apple Vision Pro. The second-generation spatial computer is said to feature augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) capabilities, like the newly announced mixed reality headset.

Meanwhile, Gurman reiterates his earlier claim that Apple is still working on a more affordable version of its first-generation AR/VR spatial computer, with the company looking to launch the device by the end of 2025. The device could be called Apple Vision One, or even a simple Apple Vision — given that the high-end model is called the Apple Vision Pro, he states in the newsletter.

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The Apple Vision Pro will go on sale in the US next year, priced at $3,499 (roughly Rs. 2,88,500) which makes it the company's most expensive wearable device to date. The cheaper version of the headset is expected to be "several hundred dollars" lower than the first-generation headset, but Gurman does not provide a specific price point.

In order to lower the price of the headset, the cheaper model could use a less powerful processor, fewer cameras and sensors, and deliver spatial audio through AirPods instead of the headset, Gurman speculates. He adds that it could "probably use lower quality screens". The resolution of the displays for the recently announced device is higher than 4K for each eye.

While Apple would need to cut some corners to lower the price of the purported mixed reality headset, Gurman says that a cheaper Apple Vision is unlikely to "compromise" on EyeSight, the external display that shows a wearer's eyes. The headset is also expected to retain hand and eye tracking features that were shown off during the WWDC 2023 keynote event.

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Gurman says that by taking other decisions to lower the price, such as a more basic design for the headband, dropping the 3D camera, using a cheaper frame, and optimising its production process, Apple could "knock several hundred dollars" off the price of the headset. However, it is worth noting that Apple is yet to provide the complete hardware specifications of the first-generation Vision Pro headset, so it could be a while before details of its successor are revealed.

Apple unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, at its annual developer conference, along with new Mac models and upcoming software updates. We discuss all the most important announcements made by the company at WWDC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Further reading: Apple Vision Pro, Apple Vision, Apple Vision One, Mixed Reality, AR, VR, Apple

David Delima

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As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More