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

[Onelifenofear]

Good news for AVP fans!

Source Link at Asymco

View attachment 2626157

This needs to be pinned to the top - or added into the main article.

Gurman is plain wrong most of the time.

 

[Onelifenofear]

Wait, wait, wait, Apple did the absolute bare minimum to “update” a high-priced niche device that they’ve barely touched in the years since its release, and they’re surprised that this barely-even-a-real-update refresh didn’t reinvigorate sales?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Wow. Just wow.

If money were no object, I would have bought an Apple Vision Pro on day one. Even just playing around in the demo units every so often—after pulling my Ron Swanson “I know more than you” card on the poor Apple Store employee that gets assigned to me—I recognize its potential and I very much want one.

But because money is not only an object but the object in my life right now … I simply cannot justify spending that kind of money on a bulky, heavy headset with bad battery life that starts at $3500 with few relevant-to-me apps and little content to take advantage of it and will cost me significantly more for upgraded storage and customized lenses for my terrible eyes.

Apple, this one is so simple to get at least slightly more right, but I bet they’re going to cut their losses on the future of computing because it requires that they actually do some work with it.

Um.. years since release.
v1 - released Feb 2024
V2 - Release October 2025.

Three major VisionOS releases. with 3-5 point upgrades.

I mean hardly bare minimum. It's a big jump.

M5 > 36% faster, Memory Bandwidth: A 30% increase to 153 GB/s, Neural Engine 50% faster
4.5 Tflops GPU - So about the same as a PS4 Pro / Switch 2
10% more pixels with a 120Hz refresh rate ( up from 90 )
increased battery life
Constant VisionOS updates.

They weren't going do a massive hardware upgrade on the second generation. Tooling is hard. I do expect to see the Third gen being something different.

Also they are are actively hiring people for the Vision team... so this is all hogwash.

 

[Steve Adams]

The M5 version didn’t fix the main issues, which were price, size, weight (the new strap helped with that a bit I guess), and battery life. It seems crazy to give up on the project without ever releasing a model that even tries to address the things people actually complained about.

Welcome to microsoft...oh wait. ha ha. They are famous for this.

 

[Onelifenofear]

Bad idea to release visionOS on a $3,500 product. How do you engage enough users to start a whole ecosystem at this price point?

Users are not the key point here... developers and enterprise are.

$3.5K is nothing for a tool you need for work? My Mac Pro cost me $16k, My XDR cost 5K, My work car cast $1.2k and my next laptop is hitting $5k. My red Camera was $32K. People are shocked at the prices of stuff but wouldn't bat an eyelid at an electrician paying $30k for his van, or a milling machine costing 50k.

I think they shouldn't have pitched this at the public at all... yet.

 

[mgrabenstein]

The virtual desktop is a killer purpose for this. Just needs to go a little further.

A price dip should have been in version 2. Three times the cost of a phone? When it has the tech of two items. Not hard to do that math.

The desktop of the future will be plug your mini/deck in somewhere in the house and walk around with these things interacting with physical and virtual accessories.

 

[Onelifenofear]

People are panning the product for all the things it is and is not, 2 years+ after release.

Other than all the people and comvpnaie using this for
Automotive - Visulisation, Production engineering = Customer visualisation.
ArchVIs - CAD, Design, Visualisation
3d Production - Animation, sculpting.
engineering - Prototyping and simulation.
Data Visualisation ( I have built and sold a number of these to clients )
Avation - production and simulations for build and flight training - I know one system in use with 200 of these and make the developer $40 million
Healthcare and surgery ( https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/apple-vision-pro-cataract-surgery/ )

I have used it as a huge virtual monitor multi monitor setup for animation work and editing video in a hotel.
Blackmagic has been proper Apple Vision Pro support into Resolve.

The M5 version didn’t fix the main issues, which were price, size, weight (the new strap helped with that a bit I guess), and battery life. It seems crazy to give up on the project without ever releasing a model that even tries to address the things people actually complained about.

But is it heavy at 600 grams
Others:
Meta Quest 3 (515g)
Meta Quest Pro (722g)
Valve Index (810g)

The issue is it's front heavy, but they are not going to a Total redesign on an 18 month old product.

They are not giving up.
1. always remember - Gurman is always wrong. If he is right it's through dumb luck.
2. Apple are literally hiring 14 senior roles for the team ( see post above)

My prediction.

2027
Vision Pro 3 - complete redesign - even higher res, M6 Pro
also at some time
Vision air in 2027 - M6 - Same screen specs as now probably but lightweight and $999

2028/29
VisionAR - actual glasses, waveguide screens - AR mainly ( could be VR with covers )

 

[thatsmyfish]

I’d be pissed if I purchased one of a dev that bothered to make apps for it. A lesson for future products - don’t bother developing until the platform is a success.

I purchased one and am not pissed a bit. I use it daily. The next generation product likely needs the tech to catch up so keeping them sitting there would be a waste. The first AppleTV was a disaster. Today’s it’s a used product line. VR and AR aren’t going anywhere.

No one hates Apple quite like Apple fans. Haters will punch down gleefully. That’s their call. I’ll be watching this week’s For All Mankind on Jupiter.

 

[Onelifenofear]

The virtual desktop is a killer purpose for this. Just needs to go a little further.

A price dip should have been in version 2. Three times the cost of a phone? When it has the tech of two items. Not hard to do that math.

The desktop of the future will be plug your mini/deck in somewhere in the house and walk around with these things interacting with physical and virtual accessories.

Agree. They should have dropped the $2500 if only to increase uptake

Re virtual desktop - I am using mine in a hotel with a MacBook. Massive dual monitor. At some point that would just be a keyboard and pen, but it's not quite there yet.

Actually the killer app is ust a desktop with no need for a link at all - the full power and compute as a MacBook Pro, with a proper battery life.

 

[vi2867]

The Vision Pro has been the only product that I had no interest in trying or buying. It is too expensive, and being immersive in that kind of world is too much for me. In the future if they come out with some type glasses that are augmented reality, maybe I'll consider.

 

[isights]

MKHD just did a video talking about how Ternus is a product guy, and how he hopes Apple will branch out into new categories and try new things.

And I agree. I'd rather see Apple experimenting with new technologies like Vision Pro and missing, than having never swung for the fence at all.

The biggest problem with Vision Pro is that the technology isn't quite there yet.

Tomorrow? Who knows?

 

[brownpaw]

Did they seriously think M2 and the headstrap was the only issue, not the vr goggle format?

As for the price.. it’s still a useless device at $349

Not that Apple would ever release something like this at $349, but I still disagree with your statement. I’ve gotten a lot of usage out of my Quest headset that cost around that much.

 

[frownface]

Of course, this is just my own personal list. If you measured my time spent on a device, this would cover most of it. You mentioned there are hundreds, or thousands, of apps that are very compelling on the iPhone and which just aren't available on the Vision Pro. You should be able to name a few of them, right?

Out of curiosity, do you find the AVP a better experience than simply using a computer? Is it more convenient?

I ask because for me, what makes me reach for my phone vs booting up my laptop isn't so much that the experience is better; heck no. But phone is within reach and nimble. Since it takes time to get out my laptop, start it up, log in; etc i'm often done with trivial tasks like responding to an email before i've even opened outlook on my pc.
No one debates that the iphone is a better experience for writing emails than a pc with a keyboard, the benefit is purely convenience.

While i don't own the avp, i'd imagine it;d get relegated to the cupboard most of the time because of the above. Sure it'll do everything; but so do many of my other devices and if i have to make a conscious effort to make use of the avp then eventually i'll just get lazy.

 

[eifelbube]

I honestly have zero desire for augmented reality glasses. Not a knock on them, just not for me. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a pair in the wild either.

I share your amount of desire for AR wearables. If they have a glasses rather than headset form factor, they would definitely be more difficult to spot in the wild than the AVP. 😊

 

[anticipate]

 

[eifelbube]

…
I’d much rather read assessments from people that actually own and use an AVP.

Agreed, totally! And I also find value in assessments from people that actually owned and used an AVP but returned, sold, or no longer use it.

 

[citysnaps]

I purchased one and am not pissed a bit. I use it daily. The next generation product likely needs the tech to catch up so keeping them sitting there would be a waste. The first AppleTV was a disaster. Today’s it’s a used product line. VR and AR aren’t going anywhere.

No one hates Apple quite like Apple fans. Haters will punch down gleefully. That’s their call. I’ll be watching this week’s For All Mankind on Jupiter.

I would say "No one hates Apple quite like Apple fans on certain tech forums."

I'm a member and post on another tech forum that has a strong Apple user presence and you don't see that kind of behavior at all. Apple discussions are adult-like, technical, intelligent, no panning, and none of the race-to-the-bottom negative comments about Tim Cook and Apple. It's a breath of fresh air, there.

 

[TVreporter]

If they could get deals with major sports or musicians and stream games with unique camera angles or exclusive views (make it subscription if need be), it would really make AVP a must-have item:

Cut the price, make it up through subscriptions.

 

[huge_apple_fangirl]

Some of us said on the day this launched that it didn't make any sense. It was a "me, too" product driven by Apple bizarrely taking Meta seriously. Apple ought to be ashamed to have released a "look cool at CES" product like this, and to have abandoned taste in order to chase Meta of all companies. Glad that the new CEO is rumored to have opposed it (I think Gurman said that).

 

[jole]

I purchased this and returned it because I hated the imprecision of the eye tracking and gestures. I was recalibrating it multiple times per day.

Those problems are likely already corrected in software updates (yes, it took many OS released to get this right)

 

[citysnaps]

If they could get deals with major sports or musicians and stream games with unique camera angles or exclusive views (make it subscription if need be), it would really make AVP a must-have item:

Cut the price, make it up through subscriptions.

I think there would be a ton of interest in VR walkthroughs (perhaps with spoken/dsiplayed narratives) of various places around the world.

A few off the top of my head: Italy's Coliseum, the Louvre, the 20,000 year old cave paintings in Lascaux, France, visiting Niagara Falls, touring Egyptian pyramids, seeing a collection of Diego Rivera's fresco murals, walking through some of architect Frank Gehry's buildings all over the world, participating in Formula One races, and much much more.

 

[dsmedic10]

Wow 27 pages of (insert shocked face)

 

[Abazigal]

Out of curiosity, do you find the AVP a better experience than simply using a computer? Is it more convenient?

I ask because for me, what makes me reach for my phone vs booting up my laptop isn't so much that the experience is better; heck no. But phone is within reach and nimble. Since it takes time to get out my laptop, start it up, log in; etc i'm often done with trivial tasks like responding to an email before i've even opened outlook on my pc.
No one debates that the iphone is a better experience for writing emails than a pc with a keyboard, the benefit is purely convenience.

While i don't own the avp, i'd imagine it;d get relegated to the cupboard most of the time because of the above. Sure it'll do everything; but so do many of my other devices and if i have to make a conscious effort to make use of the avp then eventually i'll just get lazy.

I agree that for most people, an external monitor is probably something that is way cheaper and far more versatile (you can use your Nintendo switch with it, for example). I imagine the vision pro would be useful in places where you would appreciate a larger display, but it's not feasible to have one with you (eg: on a plane, in a hotel overseas, in a fairly cramped location). It also allows for a level of immersion you simply don't get even on the biggest monitors, but right now, maybe the allure of immersive content just isn't worth the hefty price tag. Myself, I couldn't even try it properly at the Apple Store because they didn't have contacts in my degree (guess is eyesight is just that bad).

That's what I would get it for mainly - a very pricey but also extremely portable monitor that I can bring around with me and use with my Mac as needed.

 

[leicaman]

The last software update will put a 3D image of a Newton on the desktop.

 

[lovehateapple]

The number of comments this story got proves how polarizing the AVP is. Long Live the AVP!!!

 

[pd1990]

I hope not, I was looking forward to a future iteration. The first iteration or two are too expensive, but a Vision model (without the Pro) would be appealing.