Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
In that context? I seriously doubt that will ever be the case. Computational power has to go somewhere. It can’t be miniaturized beyond a certain point. Double goes for batteries which can’t really be miniaturized at all. So the prospect of a device that’s non-intrusive and as common looking as eyeglasses is extremely slim.
Batteries using liquid chemistry are indeed limited, but solid state batteries are being developed that are much smaller with the same/similar energy output. Of course, as chip tech gets smaller and more efficient, the batteries needed to run them can be smaller, just as AAAs replaced D cells in electronic devices over time.
 
I am quite sure Apple Vision pro will be a flop by Apple's standards. If they are lucky, they will sell a million of them and that will not be enough to recover the development costs.
$3.5 billion? Might cover their costs. Although I get what you're saying.
 
Apple has had a heathy ecosystem of $2000 to $4000 MBP buyers for decades. The $2300 to $2500 models seemingly the most popular. Granted Apple’s computer line up does numbers drastically lower than phone. Still, that’s what Apple and its users seem willing to bear. Again, as far as a Pro Vision. Expect it to be around $3000 for quite some time. That’s not saying they won’t come out with a more affordable “non Pro” or “SE” model at some point.
As I've believed, and as stated elsewhere here, if the content available or the use benefit is compelling, the price is not going to be a barrier. I've paid $3000 decades ago for SE30s--when three grand was a LOT of money, same for iMacs of more recent vintage. No reality distortion will be necessary.
 
  • Like
Reactions: noblesoul117
Current information indicates that the second-generation Apple headset is scheduled for the product validation testing (PVT) stage of development in 2025, suggesting a release date of late 2025 or early 2026. The information we've shared comes from a reliable source that has provided us with details about Apple's plans in the past, but it is worth noting that this is pre-production information and Apple's plans could change before final mass production begins on the second-generation headset.
sorry MR not buying this "rumor" or maybe better the validity of it.

that 2nd gen VPro is in engineering, not pre-produdction and of course plans will change based on findings in engineering - so there's your bail out, just like Gurman ... the current VPro is in pre-production ...

secondly, that level of detail and codenames can only come from an Apple employee, engineer most likely. Those in the know of that detail (assuming this is actually true) are limited and I guarantee that Apple will close that leak, or, maybe Apple planted that leak ... so, someone is likely to get fired over this ...
 
Batteries using liquid chemistry are indeed limited, but solid state batteries are being developed that are much smaller with the same/similar energy output. Of course, as chip tech gets smaller and more efficient, the batteries needed to run them can be smaller, just as AAAs replaced D cells in electronic devices over time.

We’ve been told that this advance in battery tech is just about here… for over a decade. I’ll believe it when I see it brought to market.

And no, chips won’t be getting much smaller. We’re already at 3nm. The only hope is quantum computing, but to date it’s just as much vaporware as solid state batteries.
 
Because we know the price and initial feedback wasn’t earth shattering. Segway had more excitement and that too bombed.

Well you clearly don’t know Apple. They want sales not a niche product.

Elite product? What does that even mean? Just because you go to Civil in highland park and pay $6 for your latte doesn’t make you elite.
A $3500 VR headset is a TOP
TIER, PREMIUM, PRO, ELITE product. I’d even dare say it’s….DELUXE.
 
  • Like
Reactions: noblesoul117
V2 will be the one to buy. It's the same for every Apple product. The first gen is effectively a public beta test where they learn the most from how people are using their products. Gen 2 is where they implement all that they've learned and finally have a true 'finished' product. Support for the first generation is always much much shorter than for subsequent ones. It's been this way with iPhones, iPads and Watches and is just the way that Apple functions.

If you *can* wait for the second gen, you'll get a much better and much longer lived product. Of course, then you won't have the new shiny for a whole generation and those first gen adopters are what fuel further products so there's nothing wrong with buying the first gen and there's a good chance I'll be among them.

I think realistically, we'll likely get an interesting Gen 1 product and then a truly impressive Gen 2 product as well as a really good lower priced 'consumer' product that itself is better than the Gen 1 headset in almost every way.
Maybe in the past. All the Apple Silicon Macs have been trouble free. I think Apple learnt from the Butterfly generation of Macs debacle. They lost a lot of customers in those years, and pulled their head in.
 
Apple has a history of charging a lot for the first gen of a product line and then dropping it with a later revision. The first MacBook Air was $1,799 starting. Within two years it dropped to $999. iPhone was $599 (which dropped to $399 a couple of months later) but the iPhone 3G started at $199 (note that this doesn't compare with modern phone pricing which uses loans instead of carrier subsidies). The first Apple Watch (aka Series 0) had a starting point of $349 and the Series 1 dropped to $269. The original Apple TV was $299 and the second-gen was $99.
Almost all the Macs and iPhones in the last few years have had price increases. None have had price drops.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Surf Monkey
It will take a long time until this « pro » product will hit the consumer market … They will slowly analyse what is the benefit of this technology for the mass. In the meantime, some companies are showing their tech with the opposite strategy … let’s see who wins
 
I’m still going with the thought that this is nothing more than a “hobby” project for Apple. And one simple thing is true now and will forever be true, people hate putting crap on their head.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Surf Monkey
Vision Pro may not get cheaper, but the Vision line-up will absolutely get a cheaper entry level offering.

Why?

Because $3,499 is too much to build a sizeable user base, which means there won't be enough of a market for a healthy app ecosystem.
Not sure about this. Great VR experience require top of the line displays, lenses and hardware in general. Yeah, Apple could cut corners here and there offering some plastic enclosure instead of aluminum, or removing some non-essential features, but Apple cannot play with most of the (expensive) hardware without ending with significantly worst VR experience. So, for me it is difficult to understand what this "cheaper entre lever offering" is going to be. Vision is not like the iPhone where you can put slightly worst screen and old chip and still have a solid iPhone that can serve you just like the latest and greatest one. For a VR headset a slightly lower refresh rate of the displays has an enormous impact on the qualify of the experience. If Apple cant get cheaper on the most expensive components of Vision Pro, how much they can reduce the price for this entre-level offering maintaining their premium margin?
 
For a VR headset a slightly lower refresh rate of the displays has an enormous impact on the qualify of the experience.

Yes, but Apple's (traditional) business is in platforms: they make the hardware and the OS, and some first-party apps, and then third parties make more apps. But Apple platforms have never had a starting(!) price this high (maybe the Apple III did). Even the original Mac started lower.

The high starting price means the volume will be relatively low, which means the incentive both for Apple's own teams (e.g. Final Cut Pro) and for third parties to make software will be low. And Apple clearly wants third parties to make apps for it; that's why they keep hosting events in multiple locations across the globe where they invite developers to try their Vision Pro app on a real device. (I think there've been, like, five events times five locations?)
 
I wonder what the cheapest Vision will be in, say, 5 years.
$1499?
$999?
$499?

In five years?

$3,500.00

“Vision Air adds three new colors and costs the same as the original Vision Pro at $3,500.00! Choose Vision Pro 5 starting at $5,500, Vision Plus 3 starting at $4,500 and the new Vision Air for just $3,500!!” - Apple

We all know this is how Apple operates.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: flottenheimer
Yes, but Apple's (traditional) business is in platforms: they make the hardware and the OS, and some first-party apps, and then third parties make more apps. But Apple platforms have never had a starting(!) price this high (maybe the Apple III did). Even the original Mac started lower.

The high starting price means the volume will be relatively low, which means the incentive both for Apple's own teams (e.g. Final Cut Pro) and for third parties to make software will be low. And Apple clearly wants third parties to make apps for it; that's why they keep hosting events in multiple locations across the globe where they invite developers to try their Vision Pro app on a real device. (I think there've been, like, five events times five locations?)

You ignored his point. Lower refresh rate can impact the user experience.
 
You ignored his point. Lower refresh rate can impact the user experience.

I didn't ignore the point. It is absolutely a true point, but despite that: one way or another, Apple will need to find a way to drive down cost, or else the platform is DOA. They're clearly banking on

  • users will be willing to make some experience sacrifice in order to save money;
  • component costs will go down, especially because Apple is making big investments in this area.

My money is on: they're betting on both. They're confident that, two or three years down the road, they can offer a much cheaper Apple Vision non-Pro that won't be as good as the Apple Vision Pro 2 or 3 that'll be out by then, but it'll be good enough to get users excited about the platform.

What Apple is not interested in is offering niche products. There's very few exceptions to this, such as the Mac Pro (which they don't seem sure if they want to continue with).
 
I didn't ignore the point. It is absolutely a true point, but despite that: one way or another, Apple will need to find a way to drive down cost, or else the platform is DOA. They're clearly banking on

Cart before horse. If the first series Vision doesn’t succeed then the whole discussion is moot. This isn’t HomePod. There won’t suddenly be a bare bones version of Vision Pro. The hardware you see right now is fairly obviously about the most “paired down” it can get. At $3,500 you know they’ve already made most of the critical compromises necessary simply to bring it to market.
 
Cart before horse. If the first series Vision doesn’t succeed then the whole discussion is moot.

Apple always plans several years ahead. Heck, this very thread is about that: them already testing the second generation.

But yes, if AVP1 sales are catastrophic, they might cancel any future products.

This isn’t HomePod. There won’t suddenly be a bare bones version of Vision Pro. The hardware you see right now is fairly obviously about the most “paired down” it can get.

How so? It is by far the highest-specced headset.

 
Not really, the first three iPhone generations were pretty much identical:



2662059068_e537763d49_b-660x440.jpg
No they weren't. The iPhone 3G and 3GS were. But what I said is correct -- 1st gen and iPhone 3G enclosure are completely different.
 
Last edited:
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.