Apple plans cheaper Vision Pro as tariffs threaten costs
Apple’s Vision Pro ambitions just hit the reset button. Following the lukewarm commercial debut of its $3,500 mixed reality headset in February 2024, the company is retooling its strategy — and it's going cheaper, lighter, and (hopefully) more appealing to the masses.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is now all in on developing a more affordable version of the Vision Pro. That makes sense: At seven times the cost of the Meta Quest 3, Apple’s current headset was never going to be mainstream. It also doesn’t help that the Vision Pro weighs about 1.5 pounds — enough to leave your neck sore after extended use.
Per Gurman's reporting, Apple was originally planning a simple spec bump for the Vision Pro — swapping out the M2 chip for the forthcoming M5 — but CEO Tim Cook seems to have shifted course.
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The company has scrapped plans for a pair of AR glasses, and its roadmap now includes two new versions: a consumer-friendly model with a lower price tag and a tethered version designed to connect to a Mac for ultra-low-latency display streaming and enterprise-grade tasks (think surgery and flight simulators).
For now, the biggest hurdle for Apple's lighter and cheaper Vision Pro refresh is Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports, which pose a major challenge to cutting costs on an already expensive device.
Topics Apple Virtual Reality
Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.
In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and greatly enjoys Detroit sports. If you have any tips or want to talk shop about the Lions, you can reach out to him on Bluesky @offbrandchance.bsky.social or by email at [email protected].
