Apple Vision Pro Zeiss Prescription Lenses Could Cost Up to $600 a Pair: Mark Gurman

Apple Vision Pro — the company's first mixed reality headset — is expected to arrive in early 2024. The device comes with a hefty $3,499 (roughly Rs. 2,88,600) price tag, but users who wear spectacles might have to spend more for prescription lenses, according to a recent estimate. Announced at the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote event earlier this week, the Apple Vision Pro features high-resolution displays equipped with multiple sensors and cameras. It is powered by an external battery pack, which offers up to two hours of battery backup.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently estimated that the cost of the Zeiss prescription lenses for the Apple Vision Pro will be "at least" $300 (roughly Rs. 24,700) to $600 (roughly Rs. 49,500) a pair. This means that users who wear spectacles can expect to pay a lot more for the $3,499 (roughly Rs. 2,88,600) device. Gurman previously reported several details of the mixed reality headset months ahead of its debut.

While Apple and Zeiss are yet to officially reveal any details related to the price of prescription lenses, these figures suggest that the inserts for the Apple Vision Pro could cost as much as a previous-generation iPhone model.

This would not be the first instance of the company charging unreasonably high prices for add-ons or accessories — adding wheels to Apple's new Mac Pro costs $699 (roughly Rs. 57,600) in the US and Rs. 69,900 in India.

Apple unveiled the Apple Vision Pro at its WWDC 2023 keynote event on June 5 and announced that it would be available in the US early next year. It is housed in a curved aluminium and glass body with 12 cameras, five sensors, and six microphones. It is powered by an external battery pack that is connected to the device via a cable.

The headset sports two high-resolution micro-OLED displays, one for each eye, that can visualise a 100-foot virtual display and show both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). The company also announced that the Apple Vision Pro would run iOS apps that work on iPhone and iPad, and will feature content from Disney, when the device is launched next year.