Apple's Next Vision Pro On 'Life Support' As Meta Raises The Stakes

It’s been a little over two years since Apple launched its Vision Pro headset and it simply hasn’t become the mainstream success the company had hoped for, thanks to its high price tag and lack of developer support. The company continues to work on various versions of the headset that may have more mainstream appeal, but according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman the project is on “life support.”

In an attempt to salvage the investment Apple spent on getting the Vision Pro launced, there have been multiple attempts at reworking the device. One version, dubbed the Vision Air, sought to offload components to an external pack to make it lighter on the wearer’s head. Another cut-down version was a more affordable device that utilized less powerful chips than the Mac-level components found in the Vision Pro.


However, none of these efforts have managed to move the needle for decision makers. Because the Vision Pro has been such a sales flop, Gurman claims that many stores don’t even manage to sell a single device in a given month.

It’s not going to get any easier for the Vision Pro team either, as it was recently affected by a round of layoffs. This is probably the biggest indicator that the Vison Pro concept isn’t long for this world, as the company wouldn’t hobble a team responsible for working on a key product category.

Apple’s wearable future most likely lies with smart glasses while dropping the headset, which would be similar to what Meta offers in its partnerships with Ray-Ban and EssilorLuxottica. Meta has shown it’s possible to make them available at consumer-friendly price points, and Apple can differentiate itself with its usual privacy-first sales pitch and ecosystem intergration.