According to the latest edition of Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, Apple’s Vision group is working on several new products following the launch of the Apple Vision Pro earlier this year. These include a more affordable Apple Vision headset, a second-generation Vision Pro, and a version of Smart Glasses.
Cheaper Apple Vision
Apple Vision Pro was unveiled at last year’s WWDC keynote and started shipping in February 2024. While the launch generated a lot of excitement, interest quickly waned as not many people were willing to pay $3,499 for a mixed reality headset, despite its impressive technical capabilities.
However, Apple isn’t letting slow sales discourage them. According to Gurman, the company is on track to release a cheaper Vision headset, possibly as early as next year. He also mentions that Apple is working on a second generation of Apple Vision Pro, though the release date is still uncertain.
It’s unclear how Apple will reduce costs for the cheaper model, and Gurman is skeptical about whether this will make the Apple Vision headsets more popular.
What’s the point? This category of devices has yet to capture the imagination of consumers, and it’s hard to say when that will happen. If the cheaper model isn’t less than $1,500, the Vision devices will probably remain niche products.
Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter
Apple Smart Glasses
In addition to the two new Apple Vision headsets, Gurman mentions that the Vision group is also experimenting with Smart Glasses without displays, similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses.
Gurman first reported on this concept back in February, and it appears the company is still committed to it. However, he notes that the idea of creating true augmented reality glasses has been put on hold due to technical challenges. So, it will likely be some time before we see a “true” Apple Glass product that many have envisioned for years.
Despite the delay, Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses are still a cool product. They let you easily take photos and videos on the go, and you can use them as a voice assistant. Plus, with Meta AI, you can ask questions about your surroundings, using the camera feed for answers. They’re lightweight and start at around $329. It would be interesting to see Apple release something similar.
