Apple Has Given Up on the Vision Pro After M5 Refresh Flop

[lazyrighteye]

Knew this thread would be active.

Here to add that while a commercial flop, for reasons well-documented, there are likely invaluable takeawys. Amongst many, who knows what R&D will prove invaluable as they expand wearables.

 

[philfloyduk]

Spatial computing is here and it’s real. I still don’t see it being a cancelled project. Paused, maybe, but will evolve and be back after the glasses? I think so.

 

[LeifH]

Honestly, I think it’s mostly a great concept, and a great product. But…a very niche product, and very much in need of improvement.

Personally, I really wish they would keep it alive (even at a temporary loss) and continue to iterate and improve it with a long term roadmap. Keep looking for solutions to the weight distribution. Keep improving the performance. Keep chipping away at the costs to widen the audience. I think it’s got some fascinating technology and potential, it just needs a lot longer runway to make it viable for a larger audience .

 

[MrENGLISH]

They really should have sold this at a lower price and incurred a slight loss just to get it in more hands and build the ecosystem.

💯 THIS ☝️

I recently bought a used M2 AVP for an amazingly low price and couldn't be happier with the purchase. I just hope Apple continues to support it for as long as possible.

It's not a product for everyone. But I think it definitely would have sold better had it been priced lower.

The M5 revision would have been the right time for them to have removed the unnecessary outer screen feature and lowered the price point. That would have gotten more users to give it a go.

But honestly, I don't think Apple ever thought it would be hit. I believe they just wanted to show the world what they are working towards delivering and eventually that product will be AR Glasses.

 

[Kar98]

I have no idea why people take this article as fact. This article sounds like a click-bait editorial opinion piece rather than anything factual. There are no facts that the AVP has been given up on. What a terrible job MacRumors.

I mean…. Read the name of the website! It’s macrumors not macfacts.

 

[coolfactor]

What a major "disservice" headline this article has! 🙄

The Vision Pro was _always_ about breaking the ice and providing a platform for developing the technology needed for headsets. That's why they called it the "Pro", packed in industry-defining technology, and didn't focus on making the hardware "invisible". It's a beast, with a beastly price tag.

All work done on it benefits the entire Apple product line, same as the former Car project.

Nothing is wasted, nothing is a failed project. Why aren't people getting this? Surely MacRumors staff know this.

There was an article this week about the Vision Pro being used in a very successful surgery, and the article following this one is literally about the ongoing Smart Glasses project that uses hand gestures. The Vision Pro was the platform that allowed such tech to be developed.

The Pro will live on. What a terrible click-bait headline.

 

[imamacperson]

I would offer $100 for one.

 

[CPx]

I take it this is Macrumors original reporting?

 

[seviu]

They didn’t even bother to launch it in most parts of the world.

This sucks because I love VR. I hope they come up with something that works.

 

[coolfactor]

Final thought of the day:

I am thoroughly dumbfounded that Apple decided it's first entry to try to sell folk on the innovative new concept of "spatial computing" was to make its first and ONLY offering in the field one that is virtually impossible to share with anyone at all.

They were so focused on high margin profit aspects like the custom face-fitting interfacing they missed out on the "make it easy and fast to share this with all of your friends so they want one" logic.

It is called the "Pro" for a reason... it wasn't targeting casual consumer use. Maybe Apple's misfire was trying to sell directly to consumers? It was not designed for them. Future versions will be.

 

[coolfactor]

Even at the genious bar putting it on was uncomfortable - like a weighted pair of snowboard lenses that you could kinda see out of, and made your eyes crazy.

View attachment 2625898

You realize the Vision Pro needs to be tuned to your own eyesight before it's useable, right? If you hadn't done that step-by-step process, yes, then it would have been uncomfortable to use.

They have demo units for people to try on a whim? Strange, as that would most definitely be a failed selling experience.

 

[ginkobiloba]

Meta”s inferior VR headset, full of spyware, has thousands of games and apps available, and sells like hotcakes, unlike the superior AVP.

Doesn’t take a genius to know why : the price. That’s it. That’s the secret sauce. The problem has never been the tech itself.

You can literally buy 8 Metaquests for the price of the entry-level VisionPro.

 

[bob24]

Steve Jobs would never have released it like this in the first place.

Correct, but he wouldn’t have given-up on the idea either.

Basically the software is ready but the hardware isn’t (too expensive, subpar confort/ergonomics, and too much battery drain leading to so-so battery life and ackward battery pack).

Jobs would have waited for technology to improve enough that those issues are fixed or mostly remediated, and pushed his hardware engineers to work harder towards that goal.

 

[thelion7]

Apple has all but given up on the Vision Pro after the M5 model failed to revitalize interest in the device, MacRumors has learned. Apple updated the Vision Pro with a faster M5 chip and a more comfortable band in October 2025, but there were no other hardware changes, and consumers still weren't interested.

The Vision Pro has been criticized for its high price tag and its uncomfortable weight. The device is over 1.3 pounds, and even with the more comfortable Dual Knit Band that Apple added to redistribute weight, it continues to be hard to wear for long periods of time. The M5 chip added a 120Hz refresh rate, 10 percent more rendered pixels, and around 30 additional minutes of battery life, but the price tag stayed at $3,499, and it ended up not selling well.

The Vision Pro has been unpopular since it first launched, and Apple only sold around 600,000 units in total. Insider sources told MacRumors that Apple has received an unusually high percentage of returns, far exceeding any other modern Apple product.

Apple has apparently stopped work on the Vision Pro and the Vision Pro team has been redistributed to other teams within Apple. Some former Vision Pro team members are working on Siri, which is not a surprise as Vision Pro chief Mike Rockwell has been leading the Siri team since March 2025.

There have been mixed rumors about a new Vision Pro over the last couple of years, with Apple rumored to be working on a lighter-weight Vision Air that's much cheaper, but the project was tabled last year. If Apple finds a way to create a much cheaper, more comfortable VR headset in the future, the Vision Pro line could be revived, but right now, the company has no plans to launch a new model. Apple has not discontinued the Vision Pro and is continuing to sell the M5 model.

Instead of continuing to experiment with virtual reality, Apple is working on smart glasses that will eventually incorporate augmented reality capabilities, but the first version will be similar to the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses with AI and no integrated display.

Apple has not been able to use the technology developed for the Vision Pro in its smart glasses because that tech draws too much power for a smaller, lighter device.

Article Link: Apple Has Given Up on the Vision Pro After M5 Refresh Flop

The worrying thing is I’m not surprised that modern day Apple believed a simple chip bump.

All be at a good chip bump would be enough to make a 3.5K headset with little to no third-party developer support fly off the shelves like hotcakes.

In my opinion, although it’s a great piece of technology. Apple definitely flew too close to the Sun on this one.

They genuinely need to take a step back and look at what customers actually want.

For example the MacBook Neo is a well built laptop with good enough performance and they’re struggling to keep up with demand.

I’m not saying the Vision Pro is a dead product, I just think it was mistimed.

Unless Apple can deliver a Vision Pro experience for a minimum 2k less than what it is now (even with reduced specs) it would still be a tough sell but more people would buy it.

Then that would incentivise developers to build on the platform.

Also as a society, it’s worth noting that we might not be ready for spatial computing as a normal way of using our devices.

 

[thekeyring]

I can't believe anyone at Apple would really think the issue was the M2 processor.

You don't have to be a genius to know the main problems are the price and the weight, neither of which have been addressed.

Given the idea of Vision Pro is to use it relatively stationary (rather than all day like smart glasses), couldn't they have put more of the device in the battery brick to make it lighter?

Or have developed some kind of super-low-latency, proprietary wireless connection, so you have a mac-mini-sized Vision "base unit" in the room with you, handling the compute?

For comparison, Apple managed to make the Watch thinner within 4 years of announcing the original, which already felt like an impossibly-small product.

 

[Populus]

WWDC is not that far away. The last couple years there was decent investment into VisionOS. I guess we'll see if that pace has been pulled back.

My prediction is: not yet. I think this year we’ll see a few new features, and maybe next year a few more. But maybe starting visionOS 29 we’ll see little changes. It’s still soon to know.

 

[CrabQueenInc]

I was wrong then. I will readily admit to it.

Anyone know what tastes good with crow?

Humble pie.

 

[slake]

Apple has all but given up on the Vision Pro after the M5 model failed to revitalize interest in the device, MacRumors has learned. Apple updated the Vision Pro with a faster M5 chip and a more comfortable band in October 2025, but there were no other hardware changes, and consumers still weren't interested.

The Vision Pro has been criticized for its high price tag and its uncomfortable weight. The device is over 1.3 pounds, and even with the more comfortable Dual Knit Band that Apple added to redistribute weight, it continues to be hard to wear for long periods of time. The M5 chip added a 120Hz refresh rate, 10 percent more rendered pixels, and around 30 additional minutes of battery life, but the price tag stayed at $3,499, and it ended up not selling well.

The Vision Pro has been unpopular since it first launched, and Apple only sold around 600,000 units in total. Insider sources told MacRumors that Apple has received an unusually high percentage of returns, far exceeding any other modern Apple product.

Apple has apparently stopped work on the Vision Pro and the Vision Pro team has been redistributed to other teams within Apple. Some former Vision Pro team members are working on Siri, which is not a surprise as Vision Pro chief Mike Rockwell has been leading the Siri team since March 2025.

There have been mixed rumors about a new Vision Pro over the last couple of years, with Apple rumored to be working on a lighter-weight Vision Air that's much cheaper, but the project was stopped last year. If Apple finds a way to create a much cheaper, more comfortable VR headset in the future, the Vision Pro line could be revived, but right now, the company has no plans to launch a new model. Apple has not discontinued the Vision Pro and is continuing to sell the M5 model.

Instead of continuing to experiment with virtual reality, Apple is working on smart glasses that will eventually incorporate augmented reality capabilities, but the first version will be similar to the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses with AI and no integrated display.

Apple has not been able to use the technology developed for the Vision Pro in its smart glasses because that tech draws too much power for a smaller, lighter device.

Article Link: Apple Has Given Up on the Vision Pro After M5 Refresh Flop

I took one for a test drive at the store, I did actually really enjoy using it. If they had the immersive view for wnba games that would almost be enough to get me to buy one. Maybe if I could find just one other reason to use it that’s distinct from my meta quest pro. And it doesn’t bode well that they’re discontinuing development. An unsupported device is a waste of money imo.

 

[carestudio]

It's an amazing device to be honest. Lots of technologies within this headset. It's just dollar sign that is not welcomed but I get it since it's a very complicated device.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

Yeah just want I want. To carry the weight of a 10 lb bowling ball on my head. That has to be good for the C1-C7

 

[carrrrrlos]

You realize the Vision Pro needs to be tuned to your own eyesight before it's useable, right? If you hadn't done that step-by-step process, yes, then it would have been uncomfortable to use.

They have demo units for people to try on a whim? Strange, as that would most definitely be a failed selling experience.

No they don’t have whims for people to try on - however, you can (could) book an appointment at an Apple store and they’ll happily walk you through the process.

 

[Exponent]

I almost had a chip of mine I worked on for 4 years go into the AVP, so I was planning on buying one until I found out at the last second Apple didn't use it.

It's a shame all the hard work and investment in time and money that went for naught. If the Apple management team had just purchased some inexpensive Meta Quest goggles, and noted - like everyone else - how they get used the first week then gather dust in a drawer after that, then this waste could have been averted.

Perhaps is they had worked with 3-D software companies (CAD, 3-D animation, data visualization), and then marketed a stripped down version as a special kind of Apple display for users of these tools, then the market could have grown organically.

 

[avanpelt]

Bigger disaster than Apple Maps.

The drivers — yes, multiple — who were given directions to drive on airport taxiways back in the day might have a thing or two to say about that.

 

[unQuestionable]

I mean it’s gonna be a solid device for the next five years. No need to upgrade anytime soon.

 

[kaplag]

Meta totally understood that the way to make the ecosystem work was to get as many headsets out there as possible, probably even selling them at a loss.

They took losses and in in the end it didn't work. They are divesting VR. Where is there any signs Meta was successful?