Apple’s expected low-cost version of its Vision Pro headset will drop certain features to cut costs, including EyeSight and an M-series chip, says Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Gurman’s comments come in the latest edition of his “Power On” newsletter
We’ve seen previous reports that Apple is working on a more affordable version of the Apple Vision Pro headset. The first version of the headset, due for release early next year, will be priced at $3,500, which is too expensive for many Apple customers.
Gurman says Apple had plans to launch a cheaper mixed-reality headset since before the announcement of the initial Vision Pro version and is now actively working on the lower-end device. The company has apparently shifted staff away from developing a standalone AR glasses product toward the lower-cost headset. Apple has purportedly discussed pricing it at around $1,500 to $2,500.
Gurman had previously mentioned that Apple had plans for reducing the price of the headset, by using a lower-resolution display and by powering it with an iPhone-level chip in place of a Mac-level chip. Now, he also believes that Apple will likely remove the EyeSight feature, Vision Pro’s external display that shows the wearer’s eyes, as well as reducing the number of cameras and sensors on the device.
Gurman also repeated his previous comments, saying Apple is concentrating on making the device lighter and slightly smaller to address complaints that the first-generation Vision Pro feels too heavy.
Apple is also reportedly exploring how to make the headset purchase process simpler for those who wear prescription glasses. The first-generation Vision Pro requires wearers of glasses to separately purchase Zeiss prescription lenses that snap onto the displays using magnets. While this decision was reportedly made by Apple to reduce the overall thickness of the headset, the need to stock thousands of different lens combinations is reportedly proving to be a burden.
Apple is considering shipping custom-built second-generation Vision Pro headsets with preinstalled prescription lenses directly from the factory.
(Via MacRumors)