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According to a reputed Apple analyst, Apple’s cheaper Vision might only arrive after 2027. This contradicts recent reports of the AR/VR headset launching in 2025.
Instead, Apple will seemingly launch an upgraded Vision Pro with an M5 chip in 2025.
Don’t count on a more affordable Vision headset to arrive in 2025
The Vision Pro is Apple’s first spatial computer. At $3,500, the AR/VR headset costs too much for its limited use case. Despite the relatively low demand, Apple is not giving up on spatial computing. Previous reports indicate the company could launch a cheaper mixed-reality headset in 2025, costing around $2,000. It would seemingly use inferior components and materials to achieve a lower price.
However, TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes otherwise. He claims the production of a cheaper Vision headset is delayed beyond 2027. The company now only plans to update the current-gen Vision Pro with a faster and more efficient M5 chipset in 2025. There are also rumors of Apple stopping working on the next-gen Vision Pro headset.
“I think what really drove Apple to delay the cheaper Vision Pro is that simply reducing the price wouldn’t help create successful use cases. It’s similar to the HomePod situation—even after launching the cheaper HomePod mini, Apple’s smart speakers failed to become mainstream products,” says Kuo in a post on X.
Vision Pro lacks compelling use cases
The analyst’s claim makes sense, especially the HomePod comparison. Despite the launch of the HomePod mini, Apple failed to make inroads into the smart speaker segment. Similarly, while there was a lot of hype surrounding the Vision Pro, it did not sell in large numbers. This is understandable since it is a first-generation headset.
More importantly, despite over 2,500 apps being available on the VisionOS App Store, there’s no compelling use case for the AR/VR headset. Unless Apple and developers can come up with compelling uses for the headset, it might remain a niche product.
So, if you were hoping that Apple would launch a more affordable Vision headset in 2025, do not get your hopes up. You might want to wait for more concrete leaks or reports to confirm this.