We’ve known for months that Apple is working on a cheaper version of the Vision Pro headset, but the actual price of the device remains a mystery. But now we may have a better idea of how much it will cost – and it’s hardly what you’d call cheap.
According to Reliable Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurmanthe budget Vision Pro headset – launching “as soon as next year” – will cost “around $2,000” (or around £1,500 / AU$3,000). That will still put it comfortably at the top of the best virtual reality ranks (VR) headsets, so it’s unlikely it will ever be positioned as an affordable product.
Still, $2,000 is almost half the current asking price of the Vision Pro, which will set you back a mighty $3,499. While the price isn’t entirely unjustified – the Vision Pro features some of the best and most advanced technology in any consumer VR headset on the market – it has held the product back from becoming a truly mainstream success.
But by bringing a cheaper alternative to the regular Vision Pro to market, Apple will be able to provide a (somewhat) easier route into its spatial computing ecosystem. The company saw success using this tactic with the HomePod and HomePod mini, although with such huge price differences between these speakers and Apple’s headset, it’s far from guaranteed that this feat can be replicated with the Vision Pro.
Redefining affordability
Going from $3,499 to $2,000 is still a huge price drop, so how exactly is Apple going to make this happen? Gurman believes the cheaper device will “likely use an inferior processor and cheaper materials” to bring costs down. In addition, Apple also plans to drop the EyeSight feature, which displays a user’s eyes on the outside of the headset.
With all these changes, Gurman says that Apple “expects unit sales of the device to be at least double the level of the Vision Pro.” But given the low sales of the current Vision Pro, Gurman adds, “That doesn’t mean much.”
The cheaper Vision Pro is just one of the future augmented reality (AR) devices Apple is working on. A second-generation Vision Pro is also in the pipeline, as is Apple’s ultimate goal in this area: lightweight AR glasses similar to the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.
But given that the Vision Pro doesn’t seem to be flying off the shelves, it would make sense for Apple to focus its efforts on lowering the price to encourage more people to give it a try.