Apple’s ‘eyePod’ Patent Reveals 16-Year Vision Pro Journey

Tech patents are typically filed years before their time and a recently unearthed 2008 patent called ‘eyePod’ proves it. The patent, which surfaced almost 16 years later, describes a device…

By Hardik Dhamija

November 30, 2024

2 min read

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Tech patents are typically filed years before their time and a recently unearthed 2008 patent called ‘eyePod’ proves it. The patent, which surfaced almost 16 years later, describes a device similar to Apple’s $3,499 Vision Pro headset. This new information suggests Apple has been working on the concept for 15 years and perhaps longer. However, things haven’t gone quite to plan, with reports suggesting that Vision Pro production could halt before the end of 2024.

Apple Vision Pro Patent Filing Named ‘eyePod’ Suggests 16 Years of Development, But Production May Soon Halt

Macworld’s Dan Moren noted the patent, which was credited to Aayush Arya in November 2008. Although the reason for Apple revisiting this filing is unclear, it certainly provides some context to Apple’s long journey toward the Vision Pro. Like most Apple patents, the ‘eyePod’ could have been an exercise in theory. But Apple defied the odds, launching the Vision Pro with a sky-high price tag.

Interestingly, the 2008 filing describes a wearable display with intelligent sensors capable of tracking head and eye movements, simulating a realistic virtual environment. It uses a design that is closer to the Vision Pro but with the visor bent. At the time, there was no technology available that could have made such a device. Still, the Vision Pro’s $3,499 price has kept many prospective buyers away, and it is reportedly in short supply in U.S. stores.

The analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has added to the confusion by writing in a report that the more affordable version of the Vision Pro would be delayed until the end of 2027 or beyond. A successor to this model, with Apple’s M5 chipset and improvements like Apple Intelligence support, could be released in 2025.

Kuo points out that the delay for the low-cost variant is less about pricing hurdles and more about there being no compelling enough use cases. Until the platform allows for a wider array of applications, consumer demand for Apple’s mixed-reality headsets will likely stay muted.