A multitude of decisions were taken when proceeding with the Apple Vision Pro launch in February earlier this year. However, with internal data revealing that less than 500,000 units were shipped ever since the headset’s inception in early 2024, it is safe to conclude that the product did not garner the masses’ attention. As we look forward to the new year, we also look back at one of the most futuristic, and might we add, ludicrously expensive products from Apple, which likely has been taken out of the production block, as suggested by a report that surfaced earlier this year.
Low-cost version of the Apple Vision Pro appears unlikely, with a premium headset powered by the M5 chipset slated to launch later this year
The poor sales did not prevent the Apple Vision Pro from obtaining the ‘Gadget of the Year’ award for its visual quality and seamless user experience, but irrespective of how many accolades a product receives, its success is determined by how many customers purchase it. With its $3,499 price tag for the base storage model, it was evident from the start that the Apple Vision Pro would not be in the hands of the majority of buyers, but an important metric is that those who actually undertook a purchase returned it as its novelty wore off after a few uses.
The lack of demand eventually forced Apple to inform suppliers not to produce any additional units, but there is also more bad news related to mass manufacturing an affordable version of the mixed-reality headset. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the low-cost Apple Vision Pro’s production timeline has been delayed beyond 2027, meaning that we will likely be greeted by a more expensive successor later this year that features an M5. However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has stated we should not expect it before the end of 2026.
Apple CEO Tim Cook attempted to justify the head-mounted wearable’s lack of sales by outright stating that this was not a product for the masses but was tailor-made for those who wanted to try out tomorrow’s technology today. Looking at the statistics, it appears that consumers who want to access tomorrow’s technology are minute in number, but it is also likely that these individuals have deeper pockets that allow them to fork over a minimum of $3,499 in a single purchase. Assuming that the Apple Vision Pro’s pricing was kept in check, there are other glaring problems.
The lack of successful use cases and an extended app library make it difficult for customers to make it their daily driver, but Apple is attempting to rectify this problem with the release of future updates that include support for an ultrawide virtual display to improve productivity, not to mention working with ResMed to develop a $120 strap to reduce head strain. However, we feel that if these changes were rolled out earlier, the Apple Vision Pro might have garnered more popularity, but that was in the past, so let us look at what 2025 has in store for us.
