More details regarding Apple’s cheaper Vision headset have surfaced, including the price.
Cheaper Vision Headset will Feature More Plastic, A Slower A-series Chip and Will Completely Drop EyeSight Feature
Apple is definitely working on a cheaper Vision headset. We’ve heard way too much about it already and a new report by Mark Gurman adds some details on top of what we already know.
First of all, the cheaper Vision headset is going to be priced at $2,000. Compared to the Vision Pro which costs $3,499 for the base model, that’s definitely cheaper. Given the amount of technology and effort Apple is throwing into these headsets, it’s surprising to see Apple is going to manage the $2,000 price point.
We’ve been hearing this for quite a while now that the cheaper Vision headset will feature cheaper parts to bring the price down. The new report touches on that, too. We can expect cheaper materials being used as well as a slower processor and of course, lower resolution displays.
It is believed that the headset will feature more plastic rather than glass and aluminum. If this is true, then it means the headset is going to be way lighter compared to the Vision Pro which is a huge deal for a lot of users out there.
The report says that the Vision headset will ship with an A-series processor instead of the M-series one. I believe that’s a slight downgrade and it’s better to have a ‘desktop class’ chip like the M2 or M3 onboard that is a couple of generations old than make do with an iPhone-only chip.
I might be reaching conclusions a little too early on this one since the A18 chip from the iPhone 16 is actually very capable, and efficient.
Another feature the Vision headset will drop is EyeSight. If you know anything about Vision Pro at all, then you know how the headset displays the wearer’s eyes to the person in front using built-in cameras and a display outside the headset. Since that’s going away, I’m glad people will get one less thing to complain about.
In terms of release, the new Vision headset will go on sale next year, which is not that far away at all. However, Apple is still working on the successor to the Vision Pro and it is set for release in 2026, with most likely the M5.
I’m sure Apple is going to bake in a ton of Apple Intelligence features into its headset, whether it’s the cheaper or more expensive one. With features like Visual Intelligence also being worked on by Apple, you can expect your mixed reality environment to be plastered with AI.
