Apple Vision Pro Rumored to Receive R2 Chip Next Year

[MacRumors]

Taiwan's Commercial Times this week reported that Apple's Vision Pro headset will be updated next year with Apple's R2 chip. The report said the chip — along with A20 chips for iPhones, and M6 chips for Macs — will be fabricated with TSMC's latest 2nm process.

The current Apple Vision Pro is equipped with Apple's M2 chip, which serves as the device's main processor, along with an R1 chip for input processing.

Apple's description of the R1 chip:

M2 delivers unparalleled standalone performance, while the brand-new R1 chip processes input from 12 cameras, five sensors, and six microphones to ensure that content feels like it is appearing right in front of the user's eyes, in real time. R1 streams new images to the displays within 12 milliseconds — 8x faster than the blink of an eye.

By moving to a 2nm process — the R1 chip is likely 3nm — the R2 chip would have even better performance for input processing.

According to previous rumors, the Apple Vision Pro will be updated as soon as this year, with an M4 chip or M5 chip, a new head strap that improves comfort, and potentially a Space Black color option. This report is the first to mention an R2 chip for a future model, but it is unclear if the 2026 timeframe for that upgrade is accurate.

Article Link: Apple Vision Pro Rumored to Receive R2 Chip Next Year

 

[Donkey Man]

Just bury that corpse already.

 

[Legendary---]

Not going to lie, I completely forgot this product existed.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Not going to lie, I completely forgot this product existed.

So did Apple (on the software side).
Apparently they have a host of their own Apps for it that are still just iPad apps.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

So wait, rumors have an M4/5 upgrade for the end of this year, then an R2 upgrade next year?

 

[markgpearse]

A little off topic...

I went into my local Apple Store yesterday to pick up a few things. Asked if I could test the VisionPro. The sales staff were very nice. They added the lenses, etc. But no one could get it working!

 

[lazyrighteye]

For a platform I was SO EXCITED for leading up to the keynote, it's weird where it's landing. It definitely feels it was forced out the door when it should have remained in The Lab for another 5 years. Easily. Clearly, Tim was under intense pressure to deliver an '07 iPhone moment (as if those can be fabricated). Prob is, the market conditions were nowhere near that of 2007 mobile phones. There was no HUD market to push against really. Still way too niche.

I'm all for its continued development. I think the concept and platform have real promise. It is just way ahead of it's time, current tech, market needs/conditions, etc. And the price point.... Oof. That's gotta soften 50% before this thing stands a chance in the market. Starting at $1,499 feels more like where they need to land, optically.

 

[turbineseaplane]

A little off topic...

I went into my local Apple Store yesterday to pick up a few things. Asked if I could test the VisionPro. The sales staff were very nice. They added the lenses, etc. But no one could get it working!

Sounds like a staff that ain't being asked to demo the thing much.

 

[Cervisia]

Not only Apple burns a lot of money on this useless junk, now we got that ugly liquid glass in every other device thanks to this. I hate this product with a passion.

 

[Vasilioskn]

Oh that thing. Anyway

 

[giggles]

Good thing I always double-check the original source (via automatic translation).

Nowhere in the source it’s explicitly and univocally said that the R2 (and, hence, a new R2-equipped Vision Pro) will be out next year.

 

[sailingHobbit]

Am I the only one thinking about this little guy when reading R2?

Maybe they could team up with Disney for a R2-D2 themed Vision Pro 2 with R2 chip. But knowing Disneys licensing fees (e.g. Lego Star Wars sets), that would probably add another 500 bucks to the already hefty price tag. 🙈

 

[Mr_Ed]

So did Apple (on the software side).
Apparently they have a host of their own Apps for it that are still just iPad apps.

If the MacRumors Vision Pro forum is any indication, the prospects for apps that would boost interest in the AVP from ANY developer look bleak.

 

[MBAir2010]

Am I the only one thinking about this little guy when reading R2?
View attachment 2551649

Maybe they could team up with Disney for a R2-D2 themed Vision Pro 2 with R2 chip. But knowing Disneys licensing fees (e.g. Lego Star Wars sets), that would probably add another 500 bucks to the already hefty price tag. 🙈

R2D2 would most likely spit that out.
I can hear that droid chirp now....
"the chances of that chip's survival are 725 to 1."
C3PO: "Actually, R2 has been known to make mistakes from time to time!"

 

[ignatius345]

I just finally got around to doing the demo at the Apple Store. I was really impressed with the experience and it did live up to the hype. But... the weight was immediately noticeable, and the price is still pretty far out there. I'd be willing to shell out around the price of a well-spec'ed Mac for this, but not $3.5K.

 

[subjonas]

By moving to a 2nm process — the R1 chip is likely 3nm — the R2 chip would have even better performance for input processing.

Shouldn't moving to a smaller process give it more power efficiency rather than better performance?

 

[someone33]

So wait, rumors have an M4/5 upgrade for the end of this year, then an R2 upgrade next year?

Yeah it doesn’t make any sense, the idea that Apple will announce a new Vision Pro this year is ludicrous. I would bet the beginning of next year at the earliest.

 

[sherwinzadeh]

I mean... Meta just announced Meta Glasses with a Display for $799...

Dude, Apple's falling (and I'm a die-hard fan). Latest iPhone line-up sucks. iPhone Air with only 1 camera? Pro with aluminum (have you seen the dents reviewers already getting)? Liquid Glass? Not are they not innovating anymore, but they're ACTIVELY ruining products.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

For a platform I was SO EXCITED for leading up to the keynote, it's weird where it's landing. It definitely feels it was forced out the door when it should have remained in The Lab for another 5 years. Easily. Clearly, Tim was under intense pressure to deliver an '07 iPhone moment (as if those can be fabricated). Prob is, the market conditions were nowhere near that of 2007 mobile phones. There was no HUD market to push against really. Still way too niche.

If it had remained in the lab for another 5 years, none of the other companies would have had anything compelling to copy in the interim! It defined spatial computing and that’s a term the competition actually uses now. It defined default interaction without controllers, and that’s an expected feature set for any new headset (pinchy, pinchy). It defined a look, form factor and UI that everyone’s copying (some even copying the icons). It defined level of quality for pass through where a jelly-like real world was unacceptable. Meta improved theirs just so it wouldn’t look so bad compared to Apple. It’s not perfect, but it’s a LONG way from when the first AVP was sold!
EDIT: The industry also didn’t swing mightily towards OLED until AVP was released. Now, pretty much every upcoming headset will have it.

Apple’s done more for the AR/VR industry in almost 2 years than companies that have had products for sale for years longer. Most of the above was absolutely possible on devices before AVP, but they just didn’t do it until Apple showed the way.

 

[CWallace]

Why update it with an M4 or M5 tied to the R1 to only then update it again in 12 months with an R2?

Just wait and ship the new model with M5 and R2.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I mean... Meta just announced Meta Glasses with a Display for $799...

Dude, Apple's falling (and I'm a die-hard fan). Latest iPhone line-up sucks. iPhone Air with only 1 camera? Pro with aluminum (have you seen the dents reviewers already getting)? Liquid Glass? Not are they not innovating anymore, but they're ACTIVELY ruining products.

Can I twist a dial and watch a movie on Meta Glasses from the top of Avengers tower? That was introduced almost two years ago, where’s the competition?

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I just finally got around to doing the demo at the Apple Store. I was really impressed with the experience and it did live up to the hype. But... the weight was immediately noticeable, and the price is still pretty far out there. I'd be willing to shell out around the price of a well-spec'ed Mac for this, but not $3.5K.

That’s the cost of a well-spec’d Mac.

 

[lazyrighteye]

If it had remained in the lab for another 5 years, none of the other companies would have had anything compelling to copy in the interim! It defined spatial computing and that’s a term the competition actually uses now. It defined default interaction without controllers, and that’s an expected feature set for any new headset (pinchy, pinchy). It defined a look, form factor and UI that everyone’s copying (some even copying the icons). It defined level of quality for pass through where a jelly-like real world was unacceptable. Meta improved theirs just so it wouldn’t look so bad compared to Apple. It’s not perfect, but it’s a LONG way from when the first AVP was sold!

Apple’s done more for the AR/VR industry in almost 2 years than companies that have had products for sale for years longer. Most of the above was absolutely possible on devices before AVP, but they just didn’t do it until Apple showed the way.

All excellent points. And it's not like it's a lost cause - heck no. The R&D that has gone into VP is valuable beyond just VP. I guess I just look forward to a time when the market is ready for a new way to interface with our tech. Keyboard, mouse, stylus, touch, spatial. Bring it.

 

[fivetoedbear]

That’s the cost of a well-spec’d Mac.

Think of the original Macintosh in 1984. How it was revolutionary, but limited. Think about what it grew into up until now. I remember. I was there. I felt the excitement, and I feel it with the Vision Pro, too.

In today's dollars, the original Macintosh would cost $7000.

 

[vantelimus]

Just bury that corpse already.

I use mine every day. I love my virtual 6-foot wide screen. The only way I will go back to using the desktop with the 27" screen is kicking and screaming. Anyone who thinks this is dead is someone who can only imagine using it for gaming. It has been a huge productivity boost for me.