One way Apple could offer a cheaper version of its Vision Pro headset is to have the device tethered to an iPhone or Mac, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
Gurman’s comments came in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says that a prototype lower-cost headset, codenamed N107, has a narrower field of view compared to the Vision Pro.
Last week came reports claiming that Apple has suspended the development of a second-generation Vision Pro headset in favor of working on a cheaper headset. Now Gurman has provided new details on how Apple might go about building a more affordable Vision headset.
Gurman says Apple is also considering making the cheaper version more reliant on a tethered Mac or iPhone. “That would let Apple save money on the processing power and components needed to make the Vision Pro a fully standalone product,” he argues.
Gurman says that if Apple can achieve lower costs while retaining key features, the company plans to launch the cheaper headset as early as the end of 2025. Indeed, this has been the plan “since before the Vision Pro was unveiled last year,” he adds.
Gurman also noted that Apple has no plans to abandon the high-end headset market, and while it’s “less of a priority,” Apple is still working on a second-generation Vision Pro, codenamed N109.
