Kuo: Low-Cost Apple Vision Pro Might Be Canceled

[MacRumors]

Apple may have canceled plans to produce a lower-cost version of the Apple Vision Pro headset, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. There were multiple rumors of a lower-cost model coming out sometime around 2025, but that may not happen.

Kuo does not give a reason for why the lower-cost headset may have been nixed, but he says that unless Apple significantly cuts down on cost, significant shipment growth in Vision Pro shipments may not happen in 2025. Kuo expects Apple to ship approximately 400,000 to 600,000 headsets in 2024, and he says that while it will provide an "excellent experience," it may take "longer than the market expects" to become Apple's next star product.

A second-generation version of the Apple Vision Pro is expected to go into mass production by the first half of 2027 "at the latest," and Kuo says that it is possible there will be no hardware updates for the Vision Pro until then.

Both The Information and Bloomberg have suggested that Apple is working on a more affordable version of the Apple Vision Pro headset. The initial version will be priced at $3,500, which will put it out of reach of many Apple customers.

The rumors have said that Apple is developing a budget-friendly model that could be closer in price to the iPhone, but given the high price of the current model, it is unclear how rapidly Apple could bring component costs down. If Apple does indeed continue work on a more affordable model, it could feature lower resolution internal displays and cheaper build materials.

Article Link: Kuo: Low-Cost Apple Vision Pro Might Be Canceled

 

[spercharged69]

Vision Pro is working up to be le epic fail.

 

[MayaUser]

Sneaky this so called leaker
"low cost apple vison pro" MIGHT be canceled
No mr Kuo the next low cost ar headset will not be called vision PRO, thats all..so yea you can say a low cost vision PRO will never happen..there i call it before you...

 

[Born Again]

I called it.

I freaking called it.

This $3500 product will be a massive fail.

 

[technole]

Tim Cook reminded his staff, "we're not in the junk business"

 

[Kylo83]

What is going on with Apple they have lost the plot and their plans are all over the place, software is minor and hardware has become minor changes, what happened to Apple, maybe stop with cancelling leather and focus on important stuff

 

[nfl_brah]

But is it carbon neutral?

 

[Ivander]

Well that escalated quickly...backwards.

 

[Sorinut]

What is going on with Apple they have lost the plot and their plans are all over the place, software is minor and hardware has become minor changes, what happened to Apple, maybe stop with cancelling leather and focus on important stuff

They keep focusing on nonsense like this headset, self-driving cars and services instead of sticking to core hardware and software.

I've always been of the opinion that software > hardware, and they sure haven't been focusing on software.

 

[FSMBP]

I was skeptical how they achieve a low-cost version when it looks like it needs all these cameras/sensors to function as 'magically' as it does.

Over time it makes sense, they could bring the price down but not like a $1,500 low-dollar one in a couple years.

This whole thing is odd as Apple has always took an obscure tech, waited to perfect it AND wait for pricing to come down to earth, to unveil it. This seems like Tim wanted this next era in Apple to be kicked off while in office, disregarding previous best practices.

 

[akb]

Me: the high-cost Apple Vision Pro might be cancelled.

 

[jz0309]

All those “plans” are pure speculation, Apple announces products, sometime months in advance but they never share “plans”…
So take this with the usual grain of salt

 

[TSE]

To all you haters.

Keep doubting it.

I'll keep buying more AAPL.

 

[Gudi]

And yet another completely made-up product supposedly "cancelled". 😜

 

[Andres Cantu]

Probably because “low cost” would still be too expensive for the average user. Give it another 10 years.

 

[sack_peak]

Kuo expects Apple to ship approximately 400,000 to 600,000 headsets in 2024

At that volume for $3499, it will be a sold out hit.

Expecting to move 4,000,000 to 6,000,000 annually will require it to cheaper than $3499.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Never made sense for an "upcoming lower cost one" when the first was not yet available. I suspect that was all wishful thinking that somehow got a bit of life of its own. Get enough believing such a rumor and they simply wait for the lower cost one. Why would Apple Inc. want that???

Furthermore, it may be that the one actually planned to launch IS the "lower cost" one. It seems more like modern Apple Inc. to launch a first of something and then roll out the more expensive PRO or PRO MAX versions than to work their revenue & profit margin DOWN to JUNIOR.

All one has to do to poke holes in the concept of a cheaper one is start picking the sizable compromises to be made to get the targeted lower price. Trade off resolution? Less cameras (so that it can't do what it does as well)? Weaker processor so that it is obviously inferior to the first one? Etc. As you think through what should be dropped to create this cheaper hypothetical, what sizable compromises will be desirable? There's ALREADY plenty of cheaper variations of VR and AR products. What do we write about those? Ridicule & contempt, etc.

My guess is that Vpro is iPhone or iPad or MB (Air) or Mac mini (Desktop). A future model is PRO, PRO MAX or Studio. Why? Because modern Apple's way is to fatten revenue & margin over time, not cut it. Apple does not chase (make up for it with) volume models. The objective is maximum profit per unit sold, even if that means owning only a tiny slice of an entire market.

Pick the ideal price of this cheaper model. What discount is that from this one's price? What has modern Apple created lately with that kind of discount off any of the existing products?

 

[Jimmy_Banks]

I’m called it.

I freaking called it.

This $3500 product will be a massive fail.

Well done, you made a 50/50 guess, and might even be right, then again you might be wrong.

Pat yourself on the back, what an impressive feat.

 

[VertPin]

I’m called it.

I freaking called it.

This $3500 product will be a massive fail.

it's not even out yet. i expect it to do okay but not well, not bad either.

 

[neliason]

Normally I’m a doubter about new products like this, but for some reason I think this will be a big success. I understand the arguments that it is dorky and cumbersome. I won’t argue against that. But the same would have been said twenty years ago about walking around with a computer sticking out of your back pocket.

 

[iAppleOrchard]

Yeah uh.... Not sure if I will port my app to the Vision Pro anymore.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

Only the “analysts” were speculating that Apple was working on a lower cost product. But we already know that the experience, done right, requires a certain level of tech that doesn’t come cheap. So this will remain a high end product, but I believe it will still be appealing to many. They will sell as many as they can make. If only 1% of iPhone users buy this product next year, that is almost 15m units. Demand will be through the roof — supply will be an issue.

 

[BB8]

a product that was never announced gets cancelled and everyone in the comments rags on the actual product they announced

classic

 

[tomtad]

When the only thing Tim Cook could come up with was “watching Ted Lasso” when asked what he uses his Vision Pro for last week you just knew this isn’t going to be a successful product.

Of course you’ll have your enthusiasts and it’ll sell out, and they’ll rave about it at first. But slowly you just know they’ll use it less and less as the novelty wears off. Even watching Ted Lasso might actually be more enjoyable without something heavy attached to your head with multiple straps and plugged into a box in your pocket with 2 hours battery life. And you could, you know, watch it with someone.

The articles will then start coming out about how they’re going to their Mac/iPad/iPhone more and more etc and the narrative will shift away from this product as the hype inevitably dissipates.

It will have its uses sure. But it will remain a niche product at best for the foreseeable future and after the excitement of finally announcing a new product after several years the penny seems to be dropping internally at Apple this will be the case.

 

[cdarlington1]

Still gonna be a massive hit, but will be a slow burn. Definitely the future.