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The eye-popping $3,499 price tag for Apple’s new augmented reality (AR) headset, the Vision Pro, has met with much protest from consumers since its launch last week.
But the tech innovators behind the iPhone are already working on a budget model, according to insiders and public trademark filings, that could launch in 2025.
The trademark applications reported earlier this year hints at a strategy identical to what Apple has followed with its iPhone and iPhone Pro lines.
The documents reserved names such as ‘Reality Pro’ and ‘Reality One’ for the product now known as the Vision Pro, suggesting the ‘One’ will be their cheaper option.
The proposed Apple Vision One promises to be closer in cost to Apple’s main rivals in the Virtual Reality (VR) and AR headset market, the Meta Quest 3, which retails for one-seventh of the price: $499.99
The eye-popping $3,499 price tag for Apple’s new augmented reality (AR) Vision Pro headset has drawn outrage from consumers and industry critics, but a cheaper model is on the way
Unlike its rivals, Apple’s entry into the market is a dual-use device: it promises to be a mixed reality headset capable of both an immersive VR environment and a mapping AR experience about your real environment.
Vision Pro manages this nifty trick thanks to pass-through cameras that enable the AR effect.
But the company was nonetheless defensive about the price tag and got ahead of the criticism by touting the Vision Pro’s sophisticated, multi-functional new design.
“If you bought a new state-of-the-art TV, surround sound system, powerful computer with multiple high-definition displays, high-end camera, and more, you still wouldn’t have come close to what Vision Pro offers” Mike Rockwell, Apple’s executive who leads the Vision Pro team said just before announcing the charges.
Critics have pointed out that Rockwell’s comparison ignores that TVs are shareable technology that whole families or groups can enjoy, while the $3,499 Vision Pro is designed for a single user.
While that may make it a difficult price for most consumers to justify, Bloomberg reports that Apple is currently planning to release their cheaper entry in the Vision as early as late 2025.
But the company is also pushing for further advancements in the luxury space, with a faster second-generation Vision Pro in production.
Apple launched Vision Pro at the World Wide Developers Conference on June 5.
Unlike its rivals, Apple’s entry into the market is a dual-use device: it promises to be a mixed reality headset capable of both an immersive VR environment and pass-through cameras that support an AR enabling experience that is mapped over your real-life environment
The headset allows users to merge the real world with a digital world where they navigate with their eyes, voice and hands – no controllers required.
It runs on VisionOS, which Apple touts as “the world’s first spatial operating system.”
Apple calls it “spatial computing” because it blends content into the space around you.
Mike Rockwell, vice president of Apple’s Technology Development Group, said, “Creating our first spatial computer required ingenuity in almost every facet of the system.
“Through tight integration of hardware and software, we have designed a standalone spatial computer in a compact portable form factor that is the most advanced personal electronic device ever.”
Users move their eyes and hands and say specific commands to power their journey through the augmented experience.
Alan Dye, Apple’s head of human interface, said users use their eyes to select content in the glasses, tap their fingers together to click and swipe gently to scroll.
And the EyeSight feature lets people in the room see your eyes, unlike Meta’s Quest, which has an opaque visor.
Vision Pro’s outer screen goes dark when a user is fully immersed in a virtual world, but displays signals when the device is in use, letting outsiders know the person is in an AR world.
Apple has been defensive about the price tag and got ahead of criticism by touting the Vision Pro’s cutting-edge, feature-rich new design
When a person approaches a user completely virtually, the headset will show the user and the remote person to each other.
“You’re never isolated from people around you,” Dye said. “You can see them and they can see you.”
“The design features an ultra-high-resolution display system that distributes 23 million pixels across two screens and custom Apple silicon in a unique dual-chip design” to ensure that every experience feels as if it were happening before the eyes of the audience. the user is actually playing time,” Apple shared Monday.
The Vision Pro can run for two hours on an external battery, which Apple says should reduce weight on the user’s head.
However, the device must be connected to the mains or to the battery – there is no independent use.
Apple said Vision Pro has a three-dimensional camera and microphone system to capture videos and photos that can later be viewed in 3D.
For work use, Apple showed how the headset can be used with a trackpad and keyboard to work like a traditional multi-display computer.
Vision Pro can also play memories in your living room, such as videos of your kids or a fun party you attended.