Apple has reportedly stopped development of the second generation Vision Pro. It still plans to make a much more affordable consumer headset, but we might not see it until late 2025 or even later.
Apple has put its plans for a second Vision Pro headset on ice – but that might be good news for those of us who like the idea of Apple's headset but can't afford anything close to the asking price. According to a new report Apple is shifting focus and will concentrate on making a more affordable headset instead.
The report in The Information says that Apple had previously planned to make a Vision Pro 2 as well as a less expensive consumer model, but those plans have now changed; Apple has now apparently told its suppliers that the Vision Pro 2 isn't happening.
The good news is that Apple still plans to make a Vision headset that'll cost around the same price as a high-end iPhone. The bad news is that you won't see it this year.
Apple Vision headset vs Vision Pro: what's the difference?
According to a previous report in MacRumors, Apple is aiming to produce a headset that'll retain the same impressive displays as the Pro but without as many cameras, with smaller speakers and with a simpler headband. That won't just make it lighter on your wallet but lighter than your head too: Apple wants the headset to be at least one-third lighter than the current model.
The challenge for Apple has been to cut costs without also cutting corners, and that's reportedly proven to be much harder than anticipated; the consumer headset was originally intended for a late 2024 release but that's apparently not going to happen, and even a 2025 release date may now be overly optimistic.
As for the Vision Pro 2, it's not dead. But with all work on it currently suspended, it's not in active development either. It seems likely that for the foreseeable future Apple will do what it did with the iPhone and iPad: concentrate on making and selling a model for everybody before introducing Pro versions later. As for how much later that will be, it could be quite far away: the iPad was already five when the iPad Pro first launched, and we didn't see Pro iPhones until the iPhone 11.
