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

[Unami]

What did they expext from that "refresh"? It barely addressed the weight and comfort problem of the first one. They didn't nail the prime use case, which was "wearing it on your head". Upgrading to an M5 and adding a more comfortable strap is like adding more gears and suspension to your very high priced but unfortunately saddleless bike.

 

[Rychiar]

Doubtful. Quest is much cheaper and people aren't really buying that either. Most people aren't interested in strapping a computer to their face. There are certainly plenty of niche special use cases for a product like Vision Pro, but for the average consumer who is happy with a 13" laptop screen or iPad, what advantages does Vision Pro offer? None.

it's an iMax theater wherever you want one. its awesome

 

[Basic75]

Goes to show, it's mostly about price.

Well, I for one wouldn't buy it for 350.

 

[DocMultimedia]

When they hit the Best Buy discount bin for $499 I'll buy one. I'm guessing Christmas. 🤣🤣

 

[DaveTheRave]

The overpriced Lisa never caught on, but it laid the groundwork for the eventual mass-market success of the Macintosh. Let's hope that Vision Pro is playing a similar role in laying the groundwork for a future Apple mass-market success in the augmented reality space.

I’m sure Apple has learned a few things from this that could be useful in future projects, even though this one is a failure.

 

[bryanhalpin]

Sorry, what’s the source of the latest information? An actual Apple insider? Or some third party source? Because if it’s a third party source, you can believe me: my sources have recently indicated that Apple is “super excited about it”, it’s “going to continue to grow,” and “we’re at the beginning of the journey.”

a terrible clickbait article by macrumors. its an opinion piece by an AVP hater it sounds like.

 

[Salmon_Man]

I understand the broader sales concerns, but I think calling Vision Pro a “flop” misses some important nuance. A product can be a commercial disappointment and still be genuinely incredible for the people it clicks with.



I use my Vision Pro every day, often 8+ hours a day, and for me it has gone from being a cool device to a real part of my daily workflow and lifestyle. The value is not just watching movies in a headset, it is the large virtual workspace, focus, privacy, Mac integration, immersive media, spatial photos/videos, and the feeling that this is an early version of where computing is heading.



I do agree that the price, weight, and limited mainstream use cases make it hard for the average consumer to justify right now. But I do not think that means the product or the category is a failure. It feels more like Apple planted the flag with a first-generation spatial computer, and the broader market may need a lighter, cheaper, more refined version before it fully clicks.

 

[ryanmp]

They never managed to answer a simple, fundamental question: What is this device for?

Well irrespective of what Apple thinks there are two things that the AVP now excels at which have been shown to help. 1) VR Gaming; 2) VR adult related activities

 

[Apple$]

In this economy, I’m not shocked other people don’t want to spend the equivalent of 1-3 months rent on a vanity project.

 

[PolymathCrowsbane]

They never managed to answer a simple, fundamental question: What is this device for?

The real driver of every new A/V technology has been the same thing: That Which Must Not Be Named. Remember why VHS triumphed over Betamax and you'll have your answer. Combine AVP technology with an amoral AI platform (looking at you, Grok) and services like OnlyFans and you have a lucrative, if thoroughly repugnant, business model.

 

[DaveTheRave]

I’ve heard that the experience is quite good. But for $3,500, people have to be given a “why”, and it seems like Vision Pro never gave them one.

Reminds me a bit of the Apple Watch situation when it was first released and marketed as a fashion device. Seemed like a product in search of a compelling use case. This was long before health and fitness were the focus.

 

[giffut]

They hardly supported it with software and invest in it, a commitment for let´s say 5 to 10 years. The moment the profit is shrinking, they loose interest nowadays.

Imagine what would have happenend if they bought gaming studios and let them loose on the Mx series, getting a rosetta like translation layer, supporting the majority industry standard graphics package, made the Apple TV platform truly multifunctional. So many missed opportunities, including forgetting about most of their own applications, who stand still in a kind of stasis. Except for Logic Pro and Final Cut - but they get bloated, on the other hand, and unreliable.

They are lazy, complacent on many fronts - that is what kills most of their products.

 

[DaveTheRave]

Sadly, it's not really a consumer product. But it is making headway as a medical device, a niche market. Just earlier this week, there was a tech article about an ophthalmologist using it to successfully complete a few 100 cataract surgeries. It has been used in numerous other ORs as well.

I thought real estate could be a great use. Imagine being able to do dozens of virtual open houses without leaving your home (or real estate agent’s office) when buying a home.

 

[theheadguy]

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

Anyone know what tastes good with crow?

I actually admire you.

I was fully expecting people to kid themselves and still say "whatever it is by far the best investment I've ever made I would do it over again 100x, and the finite films that have been made for it I'll enjoy watching until I'm 6 ft under" etc., etc.

The true tragedy is how Apple conned consumers with this. People paid $3,500 (and maybe even bought v2) because they believed that Apple believed in the product. They didn't think it would be killed after the first iterative refresh.

 

[cybeross]

I still think the technology is the future and the demo was really awesome! Just because it wasn’t perfect in its first two forms doesn’t mean the entire concept is bad, it just means this particular execution wasn’t there yet. It would be sad if they truly scrapped this train of thought…

 

[mukiex]

It's $3,500. The market leader starts at $350, has two controllers, and has a marketplace loaded to the brim with games.

It might be good, but so is the Quest 3 and it's not 10 times as good. And the worst part is even the Quest 3 is having trouble in the market.

And their "cheaper" model is targeted for what, $1,500? $1,000? $2,000? They're a digit past the point they need to be with non-existent software.

Honestly by this point I was expecting them to include R1 functionality in the main chip and release a much cheaper model alongside those savings. But as it stands this is a faberge egg.

Fewer, cheaper cameras, M5 (or M6) only, no OLED eyeball nonsense, less than $1,000. That should honestly be it.

 

[CEmajr]

Price tag was way too high for it to become a mainstream device. The high prices work for iPhones because everyone needs a phone, always have it with them, and most importantly, they can be financed at 0% APR from cellular carriers. Very few people can shell out over $2K upfront for a luxury device.

 

[matthew12]

The problem is that price. For $3500 you can build out a really nice setup of Apple products or get a really, really nice home theater setup. If it was $1500 or $2000, it would've probably done better, but the price is insane. Especially if you have higher taxes. Where I live in California, it's almost $4000 USD for just the base model after sales tax. Ridiculous. If you want a VR headset and don't mind how awful Meta is, they offer a decent VR headset for 1/7th the price. Even with an Apple Card and 12-month no-interest payments, that's $290 per month without taxes and AppleCare.

 

[klasma]

Make it much cheaper and lighter and consumers will buy it. The concept isn't what's killing this thing.

Unless they could make it glasses-shaped and -weighted (which is a very far-away tech fantasy right now), it would need to go heavily into gaming (and, of course, porn) to become really successful.

 

[Sallah]

The only people criticizing this product are the people that can’t afford it and have never used it. The thing is amazing, and one of the few Apple products that were released recently that gave you that “WOW” feeling when you first started using it. It is truly a magical device, and super versatile.

I think Apple just did a poor job of marketing its capabilities and VALUE. The thing can replace your TV with a IMAX theater size screen with complete isolation, AND in 3D. You can play your PS5 and Steam games on it. You can use it as a monitor for your Mac whenever you go. And the Immersive content Apple puts out is breathtaking. And that’s just SOME of the things it can do.

No, the price doesn’t need to come down, because then I’ll get a much less capable product. It’s priced fairly on what it delivers. If you want to cry about the price and pretend it’s not an awesome product, that’s just your case of sour grapes.

In the meantime, I’m super happy with the AVP M5. It’s awesome. Hopefully Apple continues to support it, because it has MASSIVE potential.

 

[epox999]

Least surprising news of 2026

 

[frode]

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

 

[frode]

The question of WHY is crucial. We are working on making 'working' in the headset a useful and powerful reality. It's going to be a lot of work to get it where it should be but here is where we are now: https://www.augmentedtext.info/author-map-visionos

 

[TurboDrooler]

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 was a VR fan for many years following the Oculus Rift kickstarter. I’ve owned maybe eight different headsets since then. Ultimately, I don’t use it anymore. It’s hot and uncomfortable and messes up your hair. Not worth it in the long run. I won’t return until they are just a pair of glasses. Apple really made the wrong call on releasing the Vision Pro as anything other than a dev kit in anticipation of their lightweight glasses product.

 

[klasma]

They never managed to answer a simple, fundamental question: What is this device for?

From the promotional material, for making spacial recordings of your kids’ birthday parties. 😉