Vision Pro 2 Rumored to Have Two Key Advantages Over Current Model

[MacRumors]

Apple is working on a new version of the Vision Pro with two key advantages over the current model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Specifically, in his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said Apple is developing a new headset that is both lighter and less expensive than the current Vision Pro, which starts at $3,499 in the U.S. and weighs up to 1.5 pounds.

Gurman said Apple is also working on another version of the Vision Pro that can have a wired connection with a Mac, for an ultra-low-latency experience.

"The idea is to create an ultra-low-latency system for streaming a user's Mac display or for connecting to high-end enterprise applications," said Gurman. "Some customers have been using the Vision Pro for things like viewing imaging during surgery or for flight simulators. Those are two areas where a user would want the least amount of lag possible — something that can't be guaranteed by a fully wireless system."

It is unclear when Apple plans to release either of these headsets. The current Vision Pro was released in February 2024.

Gurman added that one of Apple CEO Tim Cook's top priorities remains true augmented reality glasses, but such a product likely remains "many years" away.

Article Link: Vision Pro 2 Rumored to Have Two Key Advantages Over Current Model

 

[Col4bin]

Apple is working on a new version of the Vision Pro with two key advantages over the current model…

Is one of them a $2k price reduction?

 

[mozumder]

I use mine several hours a day as a monitor for my MacBook Pro, programming at night on my bed is perfect with Vision Pro. It really is a game changer with the latest VisionOS release. That should have been the primary original use case, as a wired monitor.

Some other things that could improve the experience would be if it would be smaller so I could drink or eat something while wearing Vision Pro. The front is too bulky to drink a glass of something.

Also, I do notice that the color gamut isn't as wide as the MacBook Pro. Definitely a little bit of color fidelity loss. Hope that improves over time.

 

[tofagerl]

As my "Working from Home"-setup is becoming more and more "Working from the couch", I'd really appreciate it if we could use it directly as an interface for the Mac.
Obviously, I would still want to run VisionOS apps on it, but having a mode where you could just spread all the Mac apps across the sky while pretending to be sitting in a (surprisingly comfy) beautiful landscape, would be a killer app for me.

Oh, and some more of those shark videos and stuff as well

 

[Parowdy]

Groundbreaking. A wired connection? Incredible. Truly something that only now is possible with all these advancements in technology.

 

[Falhófnir]

Ditch the outer display and just have a lighter aluminium shell, the face mimicking thing is a bit uncanny valley creepy and probably not really necessary given you can just take the thing off to talk to someone!

A version that's basically just a display that tethers to a mac so you can enjoy spatial content would definitely be more interesting to me. That's also the only way I can see them getting this down to 'mainstream' pricing territory.

 

[jclardy]

Isn’t this two models being described? “Vision” - lighter and cheaper. AVP2 - wired connection ability (and assuming m4/m5)

 

[axantas]

There is already the opportunity for a wired connection for the VisionPro. That "Developer Strap" - which is sold only to paying developers.

 

[Macalway]

This is what I wanted. As light a possible, which means strip out everything that can be offloaded, like:

Front display
Battery
Most electronics
Most foam

A decent head-mounted display is badly needed for many applications, both commercial and for home/outdoor use.
Many users joggle around displays of all types and sizes, where something like this might work well at times

And as others point out, this will also make it much cheaper (by half at least). I would say about $1200 to $1500, or maybe less. The core technology is still expensive, and might even be improved.

 

[Mr_Ed]

Isn’t this two models being described? “Vision” - lighter and cheaper. AVP2 - wired connection ability (and assuming m4/m5)

Yeah, as written here, it looks like two distinct products. Not sure why wired tethering would necessarily be a "Pro" feature, or at least, why you would not just do it on both. There are lots of reasons to not want to be at the mercy of WiFi regardless of application.

 

[axelandersh]

Who's going to make the Mac Mini utility belt?

 

[mazz0]

Rather than a wired connection can’t they use a basically-zero-latency line-of-sight wireless connection? Would have the same benefit but without the drawback of an annoying wire.

 

[TechnoTiger3000]

So lighter and cheaper? I swear there were articles saying that the day this one launched.

 

[Thunderstrike76]

I use mine several hours a day as a monitor for my MacBook Pro, programming at night on my bed is perfect with Vision Pro. It really is a game changer with the latest VisionOS release. That should have been the primary original use case, as a wired monitor.

Some other things that could improve the experience would be if it would be smaller so I could drink or eat something while wearing Vision Pro. The front is too bulky to drink a glass of something.

Also, I do notice that the color gamut isn't as wide as the MacBook Pro. Definitely a little bit of color fidelity loss. Hope that improves over time.

You idiot. You said too much. Apple now developing a dongle straw and dongle utensils after reading your comment. Thanks a lot 😜

 

[spaxxedout]

Who's going to make the Mac Mini utility belt?

Y’all think I’m crazy, but a backpack (Macpack?) with a Mac mini, .5 kWh, and a hard shell case would be so sick.

 

[ands8]

When you compare VR products like the Bigscreen Beyond 2 (107 grams) & the Meganex Superlight 8K (185 grams) to the Vision Pro (652 grams), the Vision Pro is a dinosaur. If Homer Simpson designed a VR Headset, it would be the Vision Pro!!

 

[spaxxedout]

There is already the opportunity for a wired connection for the VisionPro. That "Developer Strap" - which is sold only to paying developers.

This! Apple caps the transfer at USB-2 apparently, but it might be capable of thunderbolt 4 through a software update. Very excited for WWDC as visionOS 3 is the first real iteration (visionOS 2 beta came out ~4 months post launch.

 

[spaxxedout]

When you compare VR products like the Bigscreen Beyond 2 (107 grams) & the Meganex Superlight 8K (185 grams) to the Vision Pro (652 grams), the Vision Pro is a dinosaur. If Homer Simpson designed a VR Headset, it would be the Vision Pro!!

File photo of Vision Pro 2 with thunderbolt 5.

 

[Mark2series]

But why? Couldn’t they put those resources to better use for the installed user base of 100’s of millions (or billions) across iOS, iPadOS, and MacOS? It’s like they’re doubling down and tying up who knows how many HW/SW engineers for what will forever be niche until it gets supplanted by glasses or something…how many have they sold, maybe 10’s of thousands or a few 100 thousand? I don’t get it, it feels like sunk cost bias at this point for the management team. It’s probably cheaper to pretend it deserves revision 2 than it is to admit it will never gain significant traction in the market which would lead to the whole “they can’t innovate, Apple is dead” rhetoric that kills the stock.

 

[Dark_Omen]

This is what I wanted. As light a possible, which means strip out everything that can be offloaded, like:

Front display
Battery
Most electronics
Most foam

A decent head-mounted display is need badly for many applications, both commercial and for home/outdoor use.
Many users joggle around displays of all types and sizes, where something like this might work well at times

And as others point out, this will also make it much cheaper (by half at least). I would say about $1200 to $1500, The maybe less. The core technology is still expensive, and might even be improved.

How do you expect to power the VR device without a battery?

 

[Kylo83]

Will it still have the flagship specs for the lenses and quality and cameras for is this more of a cheaper air version with less specs, marks article is misleading, makes out this isn’t the vision pro 2 but a cheaper version, I hope it’s the same lenses and specs but lighter and cheaper, or is the current one still gonna be the flagship quality and specs apart from the m5 etc

 

[contacos]

Are devs even bothering to develop for this platform anymore? No shade just honestly wondering. It seems like such a big investment for such a small target group. Apple never even advertised this product here.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Tethered to the Mac with a lower price could be of interest to me.

 

[falainber]

I use mine several hours a day as a monitor for my MacBook Pro, programming at night on my bed is perfect with Vision Pro. It really is a game changer with the latest VisionOS release. That should have been the primary original use case, as a wired monitor.

Some other things that could improve the experience would be if it would be smaller so I could drink or eat something while wearing Vision Pro. The front is too bulky to drink a glass of something.

Also, I do notice that the color gamut isn't as wide as the MacBook Pro. Definitely a little bit of color fidelity loss. Hope that improves over time.

Well, based on sales numbers, "programming at night on my bed" was "the primary original use case".

 

[spaxxedout]

It’s always fun to see a rumor align with your wishlist - a mainstream Vision focused on untethered use and a Vision Pro 2 with emphasis on wired use (would still need R chip for passthrough (esp if computer crashes or cable unplugs). I guess it could have a processor too. The chips are only like $60 for Apple.

- Get rid of eyesight on the pro model and maybe just have an indicator light for camera microphone. Aside from the negative press and weight, my main gripe is it prevents optimal camera placement.

- Without eyesight, camera modules could have mechanism to move / tilt for better passthrough.

- 120hz is a must. It’s honestly amazing how well 60hz content looks on a device that only does 90/96/100. Would reduce a lot of motion lag (that comes from persistently lit OLED. Meta uses flicker and backlight strobing for this). Plus, 120 plays well with 30/60/24.

- I think it’s too late, but multi user support with light seals that cost $40 (even if sold at a loss) would go a LONG way to help the perception of the product (even if most people don’t use it. Would be good for enterprise too).

- Apple put anti-glare coating on 16 Pro camera modules. Hoping they can do the same for the interior lenses of the product. That and some software work could help with lens glare, which I tell people is WAY more of an issue than the weight.

- Better interface options. Apple Pencil Pro for writing on desks and (PLEASE) allow users to remove the typing assistant when using a hardware keyboard. If the latter were the case, I’d use it daily.

- Controller support is really moot if they adopt wired support. The wireless latency is really good, but it just makes so much sense to offer wired support. They could probably commercialize the developer strap and enable Thunderbolt 4 on current gen.

- I’ve toyed with the idea of a Vision product that only works when tethered to an iPhone or Mac. Those devices would composite content on top of passthrough from R chip. However, I think it just makes sense to include a processor and enable wired use cases for gaming and pro market.