Key Takeaways
- A cheaper Apple Vision Pro may compromise features.
- Tethering to an iPhone might be required for the new model.
- Apple’s plans for a more affordable model in the works before Vision Pro was launched.
Reports that Apple has suspended work on the Apple Vision Pro 2 to shift its focus to a cheaper Vision Pro Lite continue to be taken as fact, despite the tech giant not yet confirming its plans or what’s in store for the Apple Vision Pro line.
Apple’s Vision Pro Lite is expected to be a stripped-down version of the original headset. The aim is to hit an affordable price the average AR and VR user would be more willing to pay. The cost is expected to be more in line with the iPad, the MacBook and the iPhone. However, when this cheaper model hits the market, rumors point to it including several features and requirements that will make some users unhappy.
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A cheaper Apple Vision Pro takes center stage
The Vision Pro 2 isn’t coming for a while
It’s important to note that if the reports are accurate, the plans to push the Vision Pro 2 to the backburner isn’t a sudden move. Apple reportedly has plans to divide its VR headset product line into two versions consisting of a “Pro” model and a cheaper “Lite” iteration. The move has been developing gradually over the last year, with the company assigning fewer employees to its ongoing Vision Pro 2 project.
A lower price, somewhere in the $1,600 range, means that the cheaper headset will be missing key features. First, it’s expected to be less powerful, which means it won’t be capable of everything the standard Vision Pro is. There will also reportedly be other limitations.
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Signature features could get stripped out
Say bye to EyeSight
With Apple reportedly struggling to find ways to bring the cost of the Vision Pro down, it’s possible the company could remove the front-facing EyeSight display that shows the user’s eyes on the front of the headset.
Apple might also reduce the fidelity of the internal virtual reality screens, including limiting their field-of-view. Along with those changes, the Cupertino-based company could also opt for a less powerful chip and lower the quality of the headset’s augmented reality passthrough visuals. Passthrough is what allows users to see the real world outside the headset. It’s important to note that feeling as though you’re operating the Apple Vision Pro in the real world is the $3,000+ headset’s key feature.
Reducing the quality of passthrough is poised to be a notable step back for Apple, which could result in the cheaper Vision Pro being less attractive to a certain segment of users. That said, the Apple brand will still reel in some customers scared off by the hefty price tag of the current-gen model.
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Tethered to the iPhone?
The need to also own an iPhone makes a cheaper headset more expensive
Cnet/Pocket-Lint
Another rumor circulating regarding the cheaper, less powerful version of the Vision Pro is that it would require users to tether the headset to an iPhone.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman argued in his latest Power On newsletter that tethering the headset to an iPhone would allow the company to reduce its cost because it would no longer need to include the M2 chip that power’s the current Vision Pro.
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The potential plan is in line with previous Apple products
Apple has released cheaper versions of higher-end devices in the past
Apple
It should surprise no one that Apple has supposedly been working on the cheaper Apple Vision since before the Pro launched. The release date for this second model is expected sometime in 2025, and it would make sense for Apple to announce the headset at roughly the same time its new operating systems launch this fall.
This plan isn’t new for Apple. The company already offers cheaper, less powerful versions of its iPad Pro and iPhone 15 Pro and even rolled out a lesser version of the Apple Watch with the Apple Watch SE.
Apple Vision Pro
- Brand
- Apple
- Resolution (per eye)
- 3660 x 3200 per eye
- Display Type
- Micro-OLED
- Battery Life
- 2-2.5 hours (estimated)
Tethering of course, isn’t new either, as the Apple Watch has long been tied to the iPhone, though it can also act as a standalone device.
With the Meta Quest 3 already taking steps to compete in the AR/VR market while offering a device that still costs roughly a third of Apple’s next VR headset, the key question for the tech giant is if a cheaper vision Pro will attract the wider audience it hopes to.
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