A Lighter and Cheaper ‘Apple Vision Air’ Is Coming — Possibly in Titanium
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There’s been a lot of conflicting information about precisely what Apple is up to when it comes to its spatial computing headset. It’s clear that the company is working on something — probably even two “somethings” — but it remains an open question as to when we’ll see them and which will come first.
Even before we knew what the Vision Pro would be called, reports were circulating about Apple’s plans for a more affordable version. At one point, some even speculated that the premium headset would be delayed until both were ready.
Of course, that’s not what happened. Apple showed off the Vision Pro at its 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), announcing it would go on sale in early 2024. It launched in the US on February 2, China, Japan, and Singapore in June, and Canada, the UK, Australia, France, and Germany in July.
Only days after the Vision Pro was unveiled in June 2023, we were already hearing reports that a lower-cost version was coming in 2025. From that point on, reports flip-flopped. By the fall of 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggested it was only in the “concept” stages, as Apple was still trying to figure out how to cut costs, and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested Apple was reconsidering the cheaper model. Gurman disagreed; he acknowledged that Apple was prioritizing ways to improve the “Pro” version, but it wasn’t ruling anything out and was still “funneling resources toward a lower-end version.”
By June 2024, it looked like Apple had shifted its priorities, with The Information’s Wayne Ma and Qianer Lu reporting that the ‘Vision Pro 2’ had been put on the back burner in favor of the lower-cost version.
The ‘Vision Air’
In this week’s Power On newsletter, Gurman reported that Apple has a new plan to “release a model that makes the headset both lighter and cheaper.” The current Vision Pro is 1.5 pounds, and many folks have had to resort to third-party straps to wear it with any degree of comfort, especially for long periods of time.
The $3,500 asking price is also “extraordinarily steep.” One can buy a high-end M4 MacBook Pro or a decently-equipped Mac Studio for the same price as a Vision Pro. Apple is under no illusions that its spatial computing ambitions will never go mainstream unless it can offer a more affordable option.
Gurman reiterates that Apple is still working on at least two models, so the Vision Pro may remain an expensive behemoth, but “one of the new headsets will seek to address these issues,” he says. Now, another report has suggested a way that Apple could make that happen.
In a post on X, leaker Kosutami hints at a version of the Vision Pro that’s not only lighter, thanks to new titanium materials, but also thinner.
A follow-up post indicates that titanium would be used only for the internal structures, with aluminum on the outside, which is also said to feature a “midnight black-like surface” — a color that would not only look sleeker but help to set the Vision Air apart from its pricier sibling.
The Next Vision Pro May ‘Go Further’
In September, Kuo suggested that the “Vision Pro 2” might be little more than a refresh, swapping out the M2 chip for a more powerful M5 without any other significant changes. A somewhat dubious report last week seemingly confirmed that this model has entered mass production; however, Gurman isn’t sure about that.
In the same Power On newsletter, Gurman suggests that Apple has more in mind than merely a “basic refresh,” although it’s not entirely clear where he’s going with this.
Though Apple had previously considered doing a more basic refresh of the current hardware (changing the chip from the M2 to upcoming M5), it’s now looking to go further.
Mark Gurman
Part of that “looking to go further” seems to involve the more affordable model, suggesting that perhaps this was Apple’s big pivot: releasing the “Vision Air” alongside, or even in advance of, a new Vision Pro.
However, Gurman’s sources have also revealed that Apple is “now working on a Vision Pro that plugs into a Mac.” This is apparently a follow-up to the nixed AR smart glasses that he reported on in January, providing a greater level of immersion.
“The idea is to create an ultra-low-latency system for streaming a user’s Mac display or for connecting to high-end enterprise applications,” Gurman says, creating a headset that can be used for applications like surgical imaging and flight simulators, where wireless lag is almost certain to be a problem. Apple has explored low-latency, short-range wireless standards like 802.11ay, but we have yet to see anything materialize from that work. Nevertheless, as any hardcore gamer will tell you, nothing beats a wired connection for near-zero latency.
It’s unclear if this will be the “Vision Pro 2” or a third product. It’s intriguing to think that Apple could produce a more affordable Vision Pro by shifting many of its computing responsibilities to a Mac — an idea once proposed by project head Mike Rockwell but overruled by Apple’s chief designer Jony Ive.
However, it’s equally possible that Apple’s goal may be a second-generation Vision Pro that can operate in both tethered and untethered modes, with a hardwired option for those who need zero lag. Such an idea doesn’t contradict what we’ve heard so far about minimal design changes; like switching to an M5 chip, a tethered mode would be built primarily under the hood and wouldn’t need to affect the aesthetic of the headset, other than possibly the addition of a new port or some minor changes to the current one.
Neither Gurman nor Kosutami have shared any insights into when any of these new headsets will arrive, although others have suggested that the M5-powered Vision Pro could come as soon as this fall.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
