Cheaper Apple Vision Headset Might Require a Tethered iPhone or Mac

[Delgibbons]

Apple could offer a cheaper version of its Apple Vision Pro headset by making the device reliant on a tethered iPhone or Mac, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Last week, a report claimed that Apple had suspended work on the second-generation Apple Vision Pro in order to focus on bringing a cheaper model to market. However, Gurman claims Apple shifted resources to developing a cheaper model even before the Vision Pro was released, and he has now offered some more details on how Apple plans to build a more affordable spatial computing unit.

Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says that a prototype lower-cost headset, codenamed N107, has a narrower field of view compared to Vision Pro.

Apple is also considering making this version more reliant on a tethered Mac or iPhone. "That would let Apple save money on the processing power and components needed to make the Vision Pro a fully standalone product," he argues.

Gurman says that Apple is still struggling to bring the cost down while retaining key features. But if it can, Apple plans to launch the cheaper headset as early as the end of 2025. Indeed, this has been the plan "since before the Vision Pro was unveiled last year," he adds.

Gurman doubled down on his reaction to last week's report by noting that Apple has no plans to abandon the high end of the headset market, and while it's "less of a priority," Apple is still working on a second-generation Vision Pro, codenamed N109.

This model is said to look similar to the current Vision Pro, but has a faster processor and improvements to the external cameras. The company reportedly plans to release the Apple Vision Pro 2 by the end of 2026 at the earliest.

Article Link: Cheaper Apple Vision Headset Might Require a Tethered iPhone or Mac

ah its an Apple GearVR

 

[Le0M]

To me, the "solutions" mentioned in the report make no sense:

1) the M series chip is kinda cheap for Apple to produce.

2)The iPhone's AS is way less powerful than M2 in the actual AVP.

3) Because of the iPhone's battery size, AVP usage time would be a fraction of what's capable with today's AVP - and that's already borderline little.

4) A mac would solve point 2 and 3. But then, you'd NEED a mac to buy an AVP?

Makes no sense.

What they might do to reduce costs, is discarding the silly front display, and among other things get rid of the battery pack. A tethered AVP would do just fine. You can always buy a battery pack if you want, but that's not gonna be included in the box.

 

[Royksöpp]

Just kill it if it ever comes down to that.

 

[Lioness~]

I'll pass anyway.
I rather feel my off-online time gets more prescious as more as I see of this scuba, cheap or expensive, it doesn't matter.
Ok, sometimes my iPhone mini can feel small on the go, and in rare cases I bring the iPad mini.
If I'm away longer I bring my MBA.

So I get the point that this could be convenient on the go, but still, nah. Not for me.
Bring back the MaccBook 11" instead 😄

 

[Someyoungguy]

Seriously, not trying to be a jerk, but can someone give me legitimate use cases for AR glasses? AR makes a lot of sense for commercial applications such as education, medical, engineering, etc.. You could also include people with disabilities.

But what real world scenario would the average person use these for outside of getting some directions? The watch on your wrist or the phone in your pocket already do 99% of the stuff Meta highlights. Why would I spend $500-1000 on something that is less durable, more prone to scratches and very likely to be left behind somewhere compared to my watch or my phone?

I would really love to hear everyone's ideas on what the average person would use AR on a daily basis for?

I have a terrible time remembering names, especially at a party. AR implemented in normal looking glasses could provide names floating above everyone’s head, and even add a short bio. to help with conversation or avoid sensitive topics. Watch the assistant on Veep for more use cases!

 

[Jimmy Bubbles]

Tell me it’s a flop, without saying it.

 

[mrr]

This makes sense.
All-in-one: $$
Thethered: $

 

[supremedesigner]

My guess is that the cost will be the same as the current AVP. For example, the cheaper one will be $1,500, whereas the one that requires iPhone 15+ and above will cost another $1,500, so it's a total of $3,000-ish so it's $400 less

 

[Macalway]

This should have happened from the start. I saw this coming as did thousands of other people. Time and billions wasted. Now hopefully they won't listen to the person/s who forced the present version on the company, as it is a loser.

Reducing weight, often has the benefit of reducing the cost also. This actually applies to lots of products (obviously)

 

[macduke]

I said this from the beginning. It makes way more sense to have a cheaper, lighter device that uses the iPhone for processing and power if you already have to use a tethered battery pack anyway! Then it’s basically an external display with some cool camera tech. What I’m wondering, though, is if they would need a Thunderbolt connection to the iPhone so it can quickly transmit all of the data from the camera pipeline in a timely manner? Or if it will have the R chip in it to handle all that locally and use the iPhone for compute? Even so would probably need a fairly high speed link.

 

[Le0M]

Do you know how hot this thing runs? It needs the glass and aluminum to stay cool. The greatest cost is the screens

In his defense, if the computing power would be outsourced to an iPhone, then the Vision Pro wouldn't get hot, cuz it would only have the displays that would emanate heat.
But then the iPhone... yeah, the iPhone not only would literally burn, but the battery probably wouldn't last half an hour.

 

[Velli]

That‘s what I expexted from the beginning. But I hope not only from the iPhone 15 Pro up.

In four years, none of us will give a crap if it’s 15 Pro and up.

 

[jwdsail]

Apple could offer a cheaper version of its Apple Vision Pro headset by making the device reliant on a tethered iPhone or Mac, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Last week, a report claimed that Apple had suspended work on the second-generation Apple Vision Pro in order to focus on bringing a cheaper model to market. However, Gurman claims Apple shifted resources to developing a cheaper model even before the Vision Pro was released, and he has now offered some more details on how Apple plans to build a more affordable spatial computing unit.

Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says that a prototype lower-cost headset, codenamed N107, has a narrower field of view compared to Vision Pro.

Apple is also considering making this version more reliant on a tethered Mac or iPhone. "That would let Apple save money on the processing power and components needed to make the Vision Pro a fully standalone product," he argues.

Gurman says that Apple is still struggling to bring the cost down while retaining key features. But if it can, Apple plans to launch the cheaper headset as early as the end of 2025. Indeed, this has been the plan "since before the Vision Pro was unveiled last year," he adds.

Gurman doubled down on his reaction to last week's report by noting that Apple has no plans to abandon the high end of the headset market, and while it's "less of a priority," Apple is still working on a second-generation Vision Pro, codenamed N109.

This model is said to look similar to the current Vision Pro, but has a faster processor and improvements to the external cameras. The company reportedly plans to release the Apple Vision Pro 2 by the end of 2026 at the earliest.

Article Link: Cheaper Apple Vision Headset Might Require a Tethered iPhone or Mac

I actually want the ability to connect an AVP/AV to a Mac or *PC* (existing Sim setups), but wouldn't want it to be a requirement...

Hopefully Apple requiring a computer (or phone) to be connected to the lower cost version opens up future upgraded AVPs to allow Mac/PC hardware to connect to it to make use of existing Sim hardware/software... (racing and flight sims especially)

Only way I'd ever consider buying one... (want a new/updated QTVR for AV/AVP as well!!! /me shakes fist at cloud)

 

[jwdsail]

Narrower field of view 🥲

Yeah, would like to see a wider FoV compared to the AvP... smh

 

[playtech1]

Tethering is fine if you do it wirelessly. People's experience of wireless tethering of the Meta Quest 3 has been very positive - very little quality loss if the setup is right.

Tethering also opens up the possibility of escaping Apple's walled garden app environment, which I think this product needs since dev interest does not seem high.

 

[CraigJDuffy]

Apple could offer a cheaper version of its Apple Vision Pro headset by making the device reliant on a tethered iPhone or Mac, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Last week, a report claimed that Apple had suspended work on the second-generation Apple Vision Pro in order to focus on bringing a cheaper model to market. However, Gurman claims Apple shifted resources to developing a cheaper model even before the Vision Pro was released, and he has now offered some more details on how Apple plans to build a more affordable spatial computing unit.

Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says that a prototype lower-cost headset, codenamed N107, has a narrower field of view compared to Vision Pro.

Apple is also considering making this version more reliant on a tethered Mac or iPhone. "That would let Apple save money on the processing power and components needed to make the Vision Pro a fully standalone product," he argues.

Gurman says that Apple is still struggling to bring the cost down while retaining key features. But if it can, Apple plans to launch the cheaper headset as early as the end of 2025. Indeed, this has been the plan "since before the Vision Pro was unveiled last year," he adds.

Gurman doubled down on his reaction to last week's report by noting that Apple has no plans to abandon the high end of the headset market, and while it's "less of a priority," Apple is still working on a second-generation Vision Pro, codenamed N109.

This model is said to look similar to the current Vision Pro, but has a faster processor and improvements to the external cameras. The company reportedly plans to release the Apple Vision Pro 2 by the end of 2026 at the earliest.

Article Link: Cheaper Apple Vision Headset Might Require a Tethered iPhone or Mac

This is actually preferable if it means you can upgrade the computational power of the headset with your phone. I’d definitely prefer to tether to a Mac though.

 

[The Game 161]

End of 2026 at the earliest.

I mean, my 2nd grader might also go to medical school some day, since we're talking at the earliest.

Don't rush or anything as this segment implodes.

This cheaper model is end of next year

The Vision Pro 2 is said to be end of 2026

 

[JordanCautious]

So you can upgrade the processor for your Vision by upgrading your iPhone?
Sounds great to me! 🥰🤓

Wait a minute. You might be cooking here. That probably applies to the Mac as well. But that's basically just PCVR. Or I guess it would be MacVR lol

 

[TechnoMonk]

Does this website have the memory span of a goldfish?

This was in the works and reported on like two years ago. It was phrased as an internal fight between teams resulting in the tethered version being cancelled.

This is the exact same misunderstanding by analysts as the “cancellation” of the AVP 2 that’s being reported.

Apple always works on several versions of a project internally. Setting one up for a release does not mean the cancellation of another.

The full saga of Apple’s troubled mixed reality headset has been revealed

It’s a complicated tale of processors, base stations, politics, and Jony Ive.

arstechnica.com

Sounds about right. And I don’t mind two variations of AVP, depending on use cases and budget.

 

[JordanCautious]

This is basically just PCVR, which is also tethered. All that's missing now is the Vision controllers and we have PCVR on Mac. Wouldn't mind this outcome, especially if they are insistent on making it out of metal still. What's the point of tetherless if the headset is heavy?

 

[seek3r]

With all of those expensive optics (& that custom R1 coprocessor which will presumably still be needed), I'd have thought that the cost of including a standard M-series SoC and some flash would be pretty negligible...

My problem with the Apple Vision concept is that Apple's proposed "serious" uses - augmented reality for translation etc., replace your computer screen, immersive video conferencing - require you to spend 8 hours a day with the thing strapped to your head and won't really be practical until technology exists to make it an order of magnitude smaller and lighter. In a business environment there are always going to be a couple of colleagues who won't/can't wear goggles (some for valid reasons, others out of stubbornness - and good luck telling the two apart).

It’s been reported before that Apple’s ultimate goal for AR is something the size of typical glasses, if they manage to do that it would work (if they managed to make contacts that would be even cooler), but yeah, a lot of folks dont even like wearing their glasses for 8 hours let alone more bulky items, it’s a major stumbling block right now

 

[cardfan]

It’s been reported before that Apple’s ultimate goal for AR is something the size of typical glasses, if they manage to do that it would work (if they managed to make contacts that would be even cooler), but yeah, a lot of folks dont even like wearing their glasses for 8 hours let alone more bulky items, it’s a major stumbling block right now

Don’t see the point in those. Not happening anytime soon anyways.

 

[cardfan]

I said this from the beginning. It makes way more sense to have a cheaper, lighter device that uses the iPhone for processing and power if you already have to use a tethered battery pack anyway! Then it’s basically an external display with some cool camera tech. What I’m wondering, though, is if they would need a Thunderbolt connection to the iPhone so it can quickly transmit all of the data from the camera pipeline in a timely manner? Or if it will have the R chip in it to handle all that locally and use the iPhone for compute? Even so would probably need a fairly high speed link.

Sounds like a device with even more friction to use.

 

[Naraxus]

What are you ok with?
It already needs a tethered battery

So now it would be a wire going to the iPhone which will need some type of other battery addon itself?
There isn't extra battery to spare on iPhones as it is ... the tech around power usage and batteries is really hitting limits.

Buy a dongle for this, buy an iPhone for that. Apple is nothing if not the master of the upsell

 

[Naraxus]

Just kill it if it ever comes down to that.

Had they a CEO with actual vision (pun fully intended), they would have killed this albatross before it ever hatched.