Apple Vision Pro — the iPhone maker’s first spatial computer introduced earlier this year — will likely be followed by a cheaper model, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The Cupertino company is reportedly working on the next versions of the headset and one version could have a much lower price tag than the Apple Vision Pro. To keep the price of the spatial computer down, Apple would have to cut some features from the Vision Pro, Gurman says.
In his weekly newsletter, Gurman states that Apple is already developing a lower version of the Vision Pro. The company is moving employees charged with developing AR glasses — which are said to be more advanced than the Vision Pro — to a cheaper headset.
According to Gurman, Apple plans to price the headset between $1,500 (approximately Rs. 1,24,900) and $2,500 (approximately Rs. 2,08,100) – which is significantly lower than the $3,499 (approximately Rs. 2,91,400) price tag of the Vision Pro.
To keep the price of the cheaper Apple Vision headset high, the company will likely exclude a notable cosmetic feature from the Apple Vision Pro: EyeSight. This feature shows a display of a user’s eyes on the headset’s curved external OLED panel when they are not viewing immersive content on the headset’s screens. As a result, the cheaper Apple Vision headset may not be equipped with this feature.
In addition to dropping support for EyeSight, the company could also reduce the number of external cameras and sensors on the next Apple Vision headset, according to Gurman. Earlier this year, Apple revealed that the Vision Pro is equipped with 14 cameras, a LiDAR scanner, IR sensors and LED lights – sensors that allow the headset to understand its surroundings and provide a more immersive experience, while also allowing for finger sensing gesture control.
Gurman has previously claimed that a cheaper Apple Vision headset was in the works and that the iPhone maker would opt for cost-cutting measures including using a chip used on the iPhone – the Vision Pro is powered by a chip that is just as powerful as the Apple Silicon chipsets found on the company’s Mac computers – and on lower resolution displays too. We’ll likely hear more about the company’s alleged headset in the coming months.
