Images of Apple 'Vision Air' Power Cable Emerge Online

[Hajj.david]

Actually, the original iPhone was only sold WITHOUT a contract (i.e. - no subsidy). Although, since AT&T was the exclusive carrier, it did require users to be on AT&T/Cingular. Jobs talked about that in his launch presentation. His plan was for phones to only be sold without subsidies. Apple later relented on that when people didn't like seeing the full price of a phone up front.

Your memory is incorrect. Apple did lower the prices (and cancel the 4 GB model) but it still required a 2 year contract. The first contractless iphone was the iPhone 3G (but still locked to AT&T) and the first truly contractless unlocked phone was the iPhone 4.

 

[Iconoclysm]

Sure, I give you one. The Fitbit armband can since like a decade, track your sleep automatically. With the Apple Watch you need to actually put a sleep schedule lmao, otherwise it won’t track it. And what happens if you fall asleep outside of the manual schedule? Nothing, it doesn’t compute. That’s costing 10x more by the way.

That's what you have, really? There's a difference between "can't do something" and "does something a different way"...

 

[Nibo10]

Sure, I give you one. The Fitbit armband can since like a decade, track your sleep automatically. With the Apple Watch you need to actually put a sleep schedule lmao, otherwise it won’t track it. And what happens if you fall asleep outside of the manual schedule? Nothing, it doesn’t compute. That’s costing 10x more by the way.

The fact that you wrote this proves you don’t know what you’re talking about. It absolutely tracks outside of the sleeping schedule, which is mostly there to reduce distractions, notifications etc

 

[GeezGlitch]

Clearly, a lot of impressive engineering went into the Vision Pro, and the product itself is technically remarkable. That said, it's hard to understand why Apple is putting so much effort into it. Sales have been underwhelming, and most consumers don't seem to have a strong, everyday use case. A friend of mine who bought one rarely uses it—it mostly sits on a shelf and occasionally gets shown to guests as a novelty.

Unlike the iPhone, which immediately demonstrated real-world utility—email, web browsing, GPS, all in your pocket—the Vision Pro lacks that clear value proposition. What Apple needs is a killer app that makes the device essential. Steve Jobs was brilliant at this: when he introduced the iPhone, he didn’t just present the hardware—he showed exactly how it would change the way people live and work.

 

[Nibo10]

That's what you have, really? There's a difference between "can't do something" and "does something a different way"...

What he wrote isn’t even true. The guy is a troll, thinking by having “iPhone fan” in his username, will make us not see him for the troll that he is

 

[Hajj.david]

Clearly, a lot of impressive engineering went into the Vision Pro, and the product itself is technically remarkable. That said, it's hard to understand why Apple is putting so much effort into it. Sales have been underwhelming, and most consumers don't seem to have a strong, everyday use case. A friend of mine who bought one rarely uses it—it mostly sits on a shelf and occasionally gets shown to guests as a novelty.

Unlike the iPhone, which immediately demonstrated real-world utility—email, web browsing, GPS, all in your pocket—the Vision Pro lacks that clear value proposition. What Apple needs is a killer app that makes the device essential. Steve Jobs was brilliant at this: when he introduced the iPhone, he didn’t just present the hardware—he showed exactly how it would change the way people live and work.

I don't know if we can say sales are underwhelming, they barely made any, and the few they made are mostly sold. They barely launched it in a few select countries and ONLY in store (in the beginning). It is a very obvious soft launch to see where to take the platform.

That being said with VisionOS 2.2 the ultrawide external display feature I would argue is a pretty killer app feature. It allows me to have a 57" 8k display floating in midair while on a flight or sipping coffee in a cigar lounge. A similarly sized and specced display is almost 3k alone, not to mention the other features of the vision pro that come with it. It is effectively a spatial computer and has been extremely helpful at multi tasking and "black mirroring" my workload. The few people who I know that have a AVP daily drive them for either work or entertainment or both. Going back to a normal monitor is like using a typewriter.

When my ultrawide dies I (which is soon the LCD is already starting to flicker occasionally and this piece of junk was warraentyed like 4 times) fully intend to work with an AVP exclusively wirelessly synced with my studio as my one and only display.

 

[Rychiar]

The AVP ones are the fabric weaved ones, if anything they turn gray from dirt lol.

that too but I had the issue where some kinda chemical reaction with the copper in it made the fabric turn all green/blue by the connector and I looked it up online and it wasn't just me. Apple wound up giving me a whole new battery cus they don't just replace cables.

 

[GeezGlitch]

I don't know if we can say sales are underwhelming, they barely made any, and the few they made are mostly sold. They barely launched it in a few select countries and ONLY in store (in the beginning). It is a very obvious soft launch to see where to take the platform.

That being said with VisionOS 2.2 the ultrawide external display feature I would argue is a pretty killer app feature. It allows me to have a 57" 8k display floating in midair while on a flight or sipping coffee in a cigar lounge. A similarly sized and specced display is almost 3k alone, not to mention the other features of the vision pro that come with it. It is effectively a spatial computer and has been extremely helpful at multi tasking and "black mirroring" my workload. The few people who I know that have a AVP daily drive them for either work or entertainment or both. Going back to a normal monitor is like using a typewriter.

When my ultrawide dies I (which is soon the LCD is already starting to flicker occasionally and this piece of junk was warraentyed like 4 times) fully intend to work with an AVP exclusively wirelessly synced with my studio as my one and only display.

Totally fair, you're right that this was a soft launch with limited availability, so calling the sales underwhelming might be premature. My hesitation mostly comes from the lack of a clear, universal use case. For power users like you, it’s clearly a game-changer, especially with that ultrawide display feature.

But that kind of value still feels niche. Most people aren’t looking to replace their monitor or work in AR full-time—at least not yet. Until there's a broader appeal or lower price, it’s hard to see it reaching iPhone-level impact.

 

[urbanman2004]

The Vision Pro has proven to be a failure of a product so what makes Apple think that making a smaller, lite and less expensive version will improve their customer adoption rate...

 

[Hajj.david]

Totally fair, you're right that this was a soft launch with limited availability, so calling the sales underwhelming might be premature. My hesitation mostly comes from the lack of a clear, universal use case. For power users like you, it’s clearly a game-changer, especially with that ultrawide display feature.

But that kind of value still feels niche. Most people aren’t looking to replace their monitor or work in AR full-time—at least not yet. Until there's a broader appeal or lower price, it’s hard to see it reaching iPhone-level impact.

For sure, one of the issues of working in AR full-time will be the comfort. Personally I am a giant so the weight didn't affect me and I wear a CPAP at night so even a mask or something on my face isn't weird to me (in fact my CPAP mfg makes apple vision pro straps lol) but with the M2 it did get hot and sometimes sweaty in there, one of my biggest gripes is how poor the passthrough is (likely to be blamed on the M2's limited power)

So between the two every time I have to take it off to do something I feel is a big mark against the VP. It should be comfortable enough to be worn for hours and if I need the pass through to see things clearly (like read a label) I should be able to see it without having to take off the headset.

If this next version they make it more comfortable and lower the price I think it will be a much easier sell, even just laying in bed its far better to use than a phone, you can turn your whole ceiling into a computer/movie theater. I dont think it will ever be iPhone level just because of its very nature unless apple succeeds in making sun glasses or some other major technological break through. Ultimately this is a new type of computing device, really within its own category, so we should really look at it as a new mac launch more so than a phone which every tom, dick, and harry has.

The Vision Pro has proven to be a failure of a product so what makes Apple think that making a smaller, lite and less expensive version will improve their customer adoption rate...

The number two biggest complaints are the pricing and the weight/comfort. I know way too many people who loved using the VP "but for 3500..." Go to the apple store and do a demo, its an amazing product that needs some adjustments, these are the two biggest.

 

[Silverado]

They better be planning to hit a dramatically lower price point AND support the heck out of developers, as well as have a gaming story and 1st party content narrative and support very fleshed out.

The AVP hasn't stagnated due to the hardware not being good enough.

And improve text input methods!

 

[Downundermac]

Apple has the number one selling smart watch. And the gap between them and the second best selling is ridiculous

Pricing and practicality is king.

I was going to buy an Apple Watch Ultra 2, but settled on an Garmin Epix Pro 2 sapphire 51mm on sale for 50% less than AWU2. Incredibly rugged, weeks of battery life, brilliant screen, enough smart watch features for me, very handy for sleep and health monitoring and Garmin are still the gold standard for sports tracking (golf functionality out of the box is simply outstanding!) AWU is great and had better waterproofing than the Fenix line until recently which is surprising given their emphasis on sport. If AWU only had better battery I’d possibly buy one.

Similarly, if a consumer Apple Vision unit is ever produced at a better price point and it’s more practical, I’ll also possibly buy one. But … they have a long way to go. IMO it needs a long list of basic features; gaming support, the Apple TV ecosystem so we could for example run all the usual streaming services, YouTube and network TV apps, a functional AI, of course have Mac/IOS functionality, and lastly a simple visual focusing function as an alternative to prescription lens’ and memory settings for multiple users.

 

[doelcm82]

Huh? The first iPhone was revolutionary. It wouldn't have survived and conquered the market if it had "sucked". Did it get better? Yes, for a while. The last great iPhone was the 5. Starting with the 6, the iPhone began a downhill slide that has only accelerated.

The first iPhone was revolutionary AND it sucked. Same goes for the first iPad. Do you recall that it weighed as much as an AVP?

And if you think that the last great iPhone was the 5, I think you're looking for different things in a phone than I am.

I am using the AVP every day, but I think lighter and less expensive will make it more attractive to more people. I wouldn't buy it again just for lighter, or for less expensive (I already have one so not buying another is less expensive already). But if they also make it better, as in better cameras both for the passthrough and for recording, or have new experiences not possible on the original, I might consider upgrading.

I would like to see the AVP or Vision Air capable of recording stabilized stereo 8K 180-degree "immersive" video. And have it be able to record without you wearing it, so you could record your kid's birthday party with you in it. You should also be able to edit that video on the device.

 

[Hajj.david]

They better be planning to hit a dramatically lower price point AND support the heck out of developers, as well as have a gaming story and 1st party content narrative and support very fleshed out.

The AVP hasn't stagnated due to the hardware not being good enough.

I disagree in the last sentence. The pass through is a big complaint of mine and the M2 is absolutely limiting the device both thermally and in terms of being able to push so many pixels and do so many computations to make it all work.

And improve text input methods!

This would be good, thankfully the bluetooth keyboard and track support is good especially with how it now shows the keyboard when you are in an environment. But the issue is with the poor passthrough its difficult to see the letters. Thankfully I dont need to see the keyboard to type but its always a headache when using some rare symbol because of how bad the passthrough is.

The lack of Apple Intelligence was a concern for me since it would make composing much easier with the ChatGPT integration and its other formatting tools. Thankfully this was addressed recently which helps when composing emails.

The first iPhone was revolutionary AND it sucked. Same goes for the first iPad. Do you recall that it weighed as much as an AVP?

And if you think that the last great iPhone was the 5, I think you're looking for different things in a phone than I am.

I am using the AVP every day, but I think lighter and less expensive will make it more attractive to more people. I wouldn't buy it again just for lighter, or for less expensive (I already have one so not buying another is less expensive already). But if they also make it better, as in better cameras both for the passthrough and for recording, or have new experiences not possible on the original, I might consider upgrading.

I would like to see the AVP or Vision Air capable of recording stabilized stereo 8K 180-degree "immersive" video. And have it be able to record without you wearing it, so you could record your kid's birthday party with you in it. You should also be able to edit that video on the device.

If it had a normal screen on the outside instead of the fake eyes (which frankly never really worked for me) you could absolutely use it as a "viewfinder" for selfies etc or even to just keep your AVP on to track the status of something while you do something else.

I returned mine for the passthrough and because I strongly suspected the M2 is a major limiting factor which apple will address in the next AVP. It uses to get very hot (At least for me in houston) and I would start sweating. I was concerned it would not get Apple Intelligence because of the M2 already being pushed to the max to make it work. Apple did recently address the AI but I had returned it before it came out.

Assuming they upgrade the chip to the M4/M5 (which should hopefully significantly increase the battery life as well) and improve the pass through it will be a day 1 buy because I am completely sold on spatial computing as a whole and the VP in specific.

The cost and the weight/comfort is a nice bonus.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Looks apple expensive - in 2035 the EU will force them to use USB-C

I think you misunderstand, the current Vision Pro already uses USB-C.
This is the port that connects the battery pack to the device itself.
You absolutely would not want that port to be USB-C, one wrong move, and your battery pack goes flying in your Vision Pro goes dark.

 

[rymc02]

My wife and I like very different shows but my friend and I would shareplay board games and stuff.

That's an expensive way to play board games!

 

[nfl46]

By oneself, perhaps, yes.

Well, that’s Apple and/or developers fault.

When I use my Quest 3, I have the option of using Big Screen, which enables me to join various rooms and watch movies, TV shows, sports, karaoke, and other content with others. It’s quite enjoyable.

I can only imagine that Apple will develop a native app that enables this functionality, similar to what Inspaze offers.

 

[racerhomie]

With cables leaking? No chance. Fall at the latest.

No. I am sticking with Mark Gurman's timeline. We don't know what prototype this is from

 

[johnsawyercjs]

For sure, one of the issues of working in AR full-time will be the comfort.

...every time I have to take it off to do something I feel is a big mark against the VP. It should be comfortable enough to be worn for hours and if I need the pass through to see things clearly (like read a label) I should be able to see it without having to take off the headset.

Some smaller, goggles-style VR headsets partially solve these problems by being mounted on a hinge that's mounted at the front of a halo-style head strap, so that the goggles hang in front of your face and can be raised up so that you can see without the goggles. The AVP can be used with a third-party halo head strap, but I don't know of any that also have a hinge that allows you to move the AVP up and out of the way.

You can choose whether to use a facial interface when using the halo-style head straps, with both the goggles-style headsets and the AVP, to reduce the discomfort they often cause when pressing against your face, but of course light will come in around the periphery, though in many cases this isn't an issue and can actually be an advantage, unless you need the level of immersion they provide. The halo strap/hinge-hanging approach also allows the facial interface to not have to press so tightly against your face in order to block out most light coming in from the sides.

 

[G5isAlive]

As someone who was used them too, the Apple Watch can’t even do what a Fitbit armband could 6 years ago.

You mean fit around your arm? Just what feature is missing that the Fitbit could do 6 years ago? And, I forget, how did the Fitbit measure O2 levels? Relay to me notifications from my phone? Get text messages? Place phone calls? Oh, and tell time? LOL.

If you are going to cherry pick what it can't do that the Fitbit could.. .then lets talk about the 100 things it can do that the Fitbit can't.

 

[BelgianChoklit]

Who says it’s not a leak of black EarPods?

 

[G5isAlive]

Ok ... I'd consider that a pretty serious outlier situation, but fair enough

I don't have a strong desire to sit right next to a spouse, but be in my own "headset synced up with SharePlay".

To each our own I guess.

What you never played with a blindfold? To each their own LOL.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

Who says it’s not a leak of black EarPods?

Man, I wouldn't want black stuff leaking out of my ears...

 

[G5isAlive]

Unlike the iPhone, which immediately demonstrated real-world utility—email, web browsing, GPS, all in your pocket—the Vision Pro lacks that clear value proposition. What Apple needs is a killer app that makes the device essential. Steve Jobs was brilliant at this: when he introduced the iPhone, he didn’t just present the hardware—he showed exactly how it would change the way people live and work.

The AVP / iPhone both being revolutionary comparison has been overdone, I am guilty of it myself. I do think the case can be made the technology is equally revolutionary, but you are right, the iPhone had a much clearer use case. so if we are going to judge by use case, yep the iPhone is the clear winner.

But, I am not sure Apple wanted to make a clear use case that would pigeon hole the new technology... I know I know, what kind of bad business model is that... glad you asked.

Clearly, a lot of impressive engineering went into the Vision Pro, and the product itself is technically remarkable. That said, it's hard to understand why Apple is putting so much effort into it. Sales have been underwhelming, and most consumers don't seem to have a strong, everyday use case. A friend of mine who bought one rarely uses it—it mostly sits on a shelf and occasionally gets shown to guests as a novelty.

Others have made the point about sales not being relevant better than I could, so I wont go over that, and I will play right in the hands of those that like to complain its just a beta test platform, by agreeing yep, its a beta test platform. Despite all the sci fi movies making translating hand gestures into computer input look easy, it's not. and unlike the relatively simple 2D gestures of flat devices, this is in 3D, much more difficult. It's a whole new language. And that takes time to develop and refine. The AVP is improving at a rate faster than the iPhone did. It's really the one product that is getting noticeably better each month. And I liked it on first purchase. My point is, this technology was never going to be perfect right away. Apple had been developing it hidden away for a decade, it was time to let it out. And I agree, it will not be mainstream until it's lighter and cheaper. But that technology will arrive one day, and Apple will be positioned to take advantage of it by having the software side of things done. Others will scramble to catch up. Apple is clearly playing the long game here, because this whole discussion of it not being the future reminds me of the 1984 when people were saying no one sane would really want a graphical interface when text interfaces were so much easier and faster. Surprise.

So yes, they are continuing to put in the effort so that they lead the way of this new interface, just like they did with graphical interfaces.

And, for me, yep it's expensive but I can afford it and am enjoying this preview. And, it is a great way to watch movies, view pictures, panoramas rock! and I use it to go through my email etc. Love the large screens.

 

[whcchief]

No pun intended

The pun was how I took the comment as well