Apple Reportedly Suspends Work on Vision Pro 2

[Surf Monkey]

76

LOL! It currently has a 76% return rate. A single internet poll said that a group of social media users who likely didn’t even own the AVP were threatening to return it.

HiFi was a stereo. It wasn’t an area they intended to compete. Apple Car was a potential area that they researched and decided not to pursue. Selling a car is a Herculean task when all they really need is the software in an existing vehicle, which they now have. Mini versions of existing products didn’t sell as well because people wanted bigger, not smaller. Apple adjusted. Variants of computers sold well or didn’t. They still sell computers.

Vision Pro is the first step into augmented reality, immersive reality, and special computing. This is a single report from a single supplier who says one variation is being prioritized over another, which is exactly what happens all the time. If Apple scrapped one potential iPad you’d be running around screaming iPads are dead and you predicted it 17 years ago, no doubt. If they’re delaying the next pro to get the air version out first, I would imagine they wouldn’t be mass ordering parts starting now.

You focused on that 76% and completely ignored the real meat of his comment: the Vision isn’t creating buzz. It isn’t flying off shelves. People aren’t lining up to demo it. These are relevant points. And don’t come back with “it’s just because the price is so high.” That isn’t why people fail to respond to it. They fail to respond to it because it’s heavy, ugly, isolating, anti-social and has, to all evidence so far, no especially compelling use case or killer app.

 

[Ethosik]

Apple is stretching themselves too thin. Just go back to improving your existing product lines. iPhones, Macs, watches, etc they are all suffering. Its sad that my favorite announcement from WWDC this year was native windows snapping in macOS.

 

[Surf Monkey]

EVERY feature becomes more compelling at a lower price.

No it doesn’t. The price isn’t a deciding factor when it comes to how useful or compelling an app is.

I know there are people who say they don't want it at any price, so maybe a lower price wouldn't sway them. But scan the comments. There is a market in people who say they wish they could afford one, if you make it less expensive.

Right. And scan the comments. The general consensus is that even if it were affordable it still wouldn’t become a mainstream device.

There's a market in people who say it's too uncomfortable, if you make it lighter and more comfortable. Extend the battery life and there's a market in people who say they like it, but two hours is ridiculous.

No doubt. But again, if there’s no real reason to put it on in the first place all of that is completely irrelevant.

 

[deconstruct60]

Apple has suspended work on the second-generation Vision Pro headset to singularly focus on a cheaper model, The Information reports.

...

Apple was widely believed to have plans to divide its Vision product line into two models, with one "Pro" model and one lower-cost standard model. The company is said to have been deprioritizing the next Vision Pro headset over the past year, gradually assigning fewer employees to the project.

If the M4 SoC package is approximately the same size as the M2 package, then a AVP could just get a tweaked logic board change and keep 95+ % of the rest of the device the same. ( Perhaps a radio update Wi-Fi 7 if also approximately the same size and BOM costs the same. 'cost the same' is likely a stretch there. ). Presuming that the 'more affordable' non-pro Vision was switching to a M4-R1 combo also, there probably wouldn't be much software changes they'd need to make.

(I suspect Apple wouldn't be trying to make the 'more affordable' Vision cost less by using a substantially old SoC in 2025. One of the major 'inputs' to AVP is suppose to be voice. By end of 2025, the M4 would have been in high volume for a decent amount of time. If the 'new' Vision is using the M2 then , that would hold back the AVP from an update. The M4 probably costs more than the M2 to make , but if Apple gets better volume on the R1 units made, that cost should go down. Unit run rates less than 1M isn't helping keep R1 costs down. )

A M4 could be run about the same performance CPU level as a M2 and use incrementally less power (run the SoC clock like a M2 ). That wouldn't substantively 'solve' the battery life problem, but if the other Vision product was running the M4 , Apple would have more units running the same VisionOS configuration than either one by itself. The updated NPU and GPU might not run 'peak' M4 possible performance levels , but it would be an incremental improvement over M2. Weave in 'Apple Intelligence' and should get an incrementally more responsive Siri (voice interface).

Similarly, a R1 with 1-2 less sensors ( if chopping sensors is a cost saving measure) isn't going to make the chip run 'worse'. Little good reason why the two headsets can't share the hardware/software there and amortize the costs over a larger user base. ( that will lower costs. )

"Fixing" substantial aspects of the industrial design of the AVP probably is more 'industrial design' bandwidth than Apple has , but they can skip 'fiddling' with big parts of the design. ( similar to the Mini having the same chassis for a long time.) and still upgrade the device on a 2-3 year iteration.

So the supply chain would primarily just stay the same. So there would be almost nothing new to report.



If Apple rolled out a $1,600 non-pro Vision , I highly doubt they would stop selling the AVP. Especially, as they try to sell it into enterprise/business/professional contexts. They'll keep selling, just not very high unit volumes.

 

[frownface]

At 1500 it'd still be a struggle for a lot of people when "competitor" products are 3-500 bucks.

At 600-800 i can see some traction. Enough to reach a critical mass so that dev effort/market perception can tip.

 

[Rychiar]

I would like a version that’s made just for watching 3D movies.

That’s basically what it is now

 

[Rychiar]

Calling people “rage addicts” is inappropriate. No one here has expressed rage.

You focused on that 76% and completely ignored the real meat of his comment: the Vision isn’t creating buzz. It isn’t flying off shelves. People aren’t lining up to demo it. These are relevant points. And don’t come back with “it’s just because the price is so high.” That isn’t why people fail to respond to it. They fail to respond to it because it’s heavy, ugly, isolating, anti-social and has, to all evidence so far, no especially compelling use case or killer app.

Its killer app is being the best way to watch tv

 

[Rychiar]

I'm actually pretty impressed with Vision Pro sales given its beta hardware in a new product niche for Apple with basciallly zero software developed for it. This first generation was clearly a dev kit device that should have been given away to key Apple developers to grow the skillset around developing for such a device, yet somehow Apple managed to get a lot of punters with more money then sense to actually buy it and then basically use it in their loungerooms for a few hours before going back to their Macs. Most online at least seem to be trying to justify the expense by saying its cool to use on an airplane. Ok. If that helps you sleep at night and all that.

It’s a portable home theater. Just because that’s not worth the price of a good TV to you doesn’t mean it’s not to everyone. I’m now using it far more than I’m watching my LG oled

 

[doelcm82]

No it doesn’t. The price isn’t a deciding factor when it comes to how useful or compelling an app is.



Right. And scan the comments. The general consensus is that even if it were affordable it still wouldn’t become a mainstream device.


No doubt. But again, if there’s no real reason to put it on in the first place all of that is completely irrelevant.

I disagree on all your points. The price is a deciding factor on whether people think it's affordable.

You're projecting your own disinterest on others, some of whom are on record (in the comments, which I scanned) as saying "if it cost $x I would buy it."

It will sell more at a lower price, especially if it has all or most of the features as the AVP and is more comfortable to wear. And the people who buy it and put it on will have reasons that are real to them, even if you don't understand.

 

[4k78]

I can't believe I read this entire thread.

 

[AppZ.Zero]

Surprised Pikachu Face

Even the most hyped Influencers werent that hyped with the vision Pro. Its not the product itself but the whole concept of VR/AR that ist not working and has a lot of issues.

Apple Price Tag was just the last nail in the coffin.

 

[subjonas]

The price tag of the Pro isn’t chump change for me, but I also can’t think of anything on it that could be omitted or downgraded without compromising the UX to an unacceptable point. I want the opposite—for the hardware to improve in most ways. As long as the functional value is there, then it costs what it costs and I’ll find a way to pay for it. The question for me of whether or not it has enough functional value is more specific than for general users—for me it’s how the VP can be used in conjunction with Mac drawing applications.
The only hardware “downgrade” I would accept is in materials—plastics instead of aluminum and glass for weight savings, although perhaps aluminum is valuable for heat dissipation.

 

[Wieslawo]

Just get rid of the external display and put the processor and most components in this entire powerbank and sell it independently. Goggles alone for $1000, powerban with processor for $500 (this is the price of a MacBook Air without a screen).

 

[JapanApple]

This is what happens when you make it nearly impossible to watch VR porn on your headset.

Well this will make a lot of people happy.

Instead of a $3,500 AVP2, they can get a AV for $1,500 or less.

This move will definitely get more people using them since the price was out of a lot of people’s reach.

This was Apple's intention from the start. People even said or assumed it would happen or occur. It's a good thing for Apple and future buyers.

 

[mlayer]

It's like almost no one on this thread has ever seen a demand curve. Vision Pro will get gradually cheaper due to efficiencies, removing unnecessary features, and use of different materials. The thing to remember is that Vision Pro is not merely a product. It is a platform supported by numerous technologies that Apple has been working on for years. They're not going to kill it next summer or whenever. They're going to play it out because they can afford to. For a while it might look like it's languishing, as many Apple products appear to be at times. Apple Watch was a not-ready-for-prime platform at launch that people mistook for a mere accessory. Time and proper support turned that around. AVP is the same. HomePod might be the worst case scenario, in that it's waiting for industry stuff to coalesce that still isn't happening after two years. Newton never got over its initial rollout which made it easy for Jobs to kill when he came back. Yet Newton got 4 years and there were a ton of technologies and patents that eventually carried over to Mac/iPhone/iPad that were invaluable, so development of Newton wasn't entirely in vain. The rest of the "failed" products listed by others are just that, products not platforms. That said, Vision Pro could still fail. It will take years before Apple fully gives up on it, just because Apple is not like Google or Samsung. They have to see the R1 and the camera and sensor work through because it might pay off elsewhere down the road. These things aren't siloes.
Features < Products << Platforms

 

[JapanApple]

Surprised Pikachu Face

Even the most hyped Influencers werent that hyped with the vision Pro. Its not the product itself but the whole concept of VR/AR that ist not working and has a lot of issues.

Apple Price Tag was just the last nail in the coffin.

We simply trust influencers now without question. I think not. People are intelligent enough to know not to trust influencer clowns with 3,500.00 product reviews.

 

[The Game 161]

This was reported before Vision Pro launched that they would be focusing on a cheaper model first before upgrading Vision Pro 2

 

[Surf Monkey]

Its killer app is being the best way to watch tv

Except that it isn’t unless you’re always alone, which most people aren’t.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I disagree on all your points. The price is a deciding factor on whether people think it's affordable.

“Affordable” wasn’t the metric in question.

You're projecting your own disinterest on others, some of whom are on record (in the comments, which I scanned) as saying "if it cost $x I would buy it."

I’m not projecting.

It will sell more at a lower price, especially if it has all or most of the features as the AVP and is more comfortable to wear. And the people who buy it and put it on will have reasons that are real to them, even if you don't understand.

And again: lowering the price won’t make it more COMPELLING. It may move some more units but it’s still the same fundamentally flawed product.

 

[nikaru]

At 3499$ this product was and still is unsalable. Vision Pro is currently only for VR geeks, hardcore Apple fans, or just a tech-curious guys with very deep pockets that don't care about prices. Still don't know a single person that owns one or wants to buy one. Either they put it in the 788-899$ price range, or Apple can forget about making this product even remotely popular.

Sure, I wan't to buy one to watch movies and play games from time to time, or even try working as home office, but really can't justify this spending.

 

[svish]

For the product to be successful, Apple will definitely need to bring down the price. Focusing on a cheaper variant seems to be the right thing.

 

[The Game 161]

Apple needs to be aiming the price at the price of foldables. Not too much that people can’t buy them. Anywhere from 1500 to 1800 would be fine

 

[lilkwarrior]

If the cheaper version will make Apple way more money then the expensive one then I could see them doing this.

…Apple was always going to make a cheaper one towards more mainstream sales aspirations in addition to the screen tech being more scaled out to be used on other devices not even XR headsets like there watch.


Apple sells a Macbook alongside a Macbook Pro as well as a Studio Display alongside a Pro Display XDR—why not the same for their XR product product folio?

None of Apple’s prosumer products have mainstream sales aspirations including even the Macbook Pro.

It’s been thinly veiled entitlement from the very start that Apple created a XR headset for mainstream audience instead of prosumers first which they have every right to do.


Perhaps some average people are that desperate to have a XR headset that’s not Meta that also isn’t overly compromising the form factor for just games.

 

[unchecked]

I disagree on all your points. The price is a deciding factor on whether people think it's affordable.

You're projecting your own disinterest on others, some of whom are on record (in the comments, which I scanned) as saying "if it cost $x I would buy it."

It will sell more at a lower price, especially if it has all or most of the features as the AVP and is more comfortable to wear. And the people who buy it and put it on will have reasons that are real to them, even if you don't understand.

It needs to be low. Not just lower. Like $599-$899 low. That’s the kind of wishful thinking it takes to move people to get it. Any higher and while you may still get some whales to get it but it’s going to just be those whales.

 

[btrach144]

Okay? Anyway...

The rumor is that they suspended work on the Vision Pro "2" for "Vision SE", not killed the whole product line altogether. Feel free to take it up with the leaker?

You're right, they don't even need to make the hardware cuts I mentioned, they can make it cheaper just by making it cheaper because they said so. The device has been thoroughly dismantled and the cost of parts have already been added up. We know its not $3500 of parts. I'm not getting into the whole R&D/profit margins conversation cuz it sounds like it would be a waste of time.

We get itttttt, Vision Pro was a company-wide mistake. Tim Cook is dumb and old and investors and shareholders know best. No one in the whole company raised their hand and said AR/VR was a bad idea. Execs actively hate the product and are lying through their teeth in interviews. AR is nothing but an ploy to scam investors. No one will buy a Vision Pro, not even the rich, traveling familyman!

I'm not even here to be like "FLOP? NO, VISION PRO IS AMAZING AND WILL SELL MILLIONS AND WILL TRIUMPH YOU'LL SEE!!!" I just wanna talk and speculate on tech with people that don't have a weird bone to pick with Apple, yall.

Weird, someone points out a weak point in your thesis of AVP and how Almighty it is and your response is to reply with the "Okay? Anyway..."

Nobody is going to want to engage in a discussion when that's the response and tone you take.

AVP being $$$ has nothing to do with the $$$ gold Apple Watch. End of story.