Declining demand for Vision Pro hasn’t deflated Apple’s long-term ambitions. In fact, a recent report stated that the successor to the $3,499 AR headset would arrive by the end of 2026. However, it might face a major stumbling block, given the report’s prediction. Apple will have to reduce its prices, as each of its current-generation units costs the company an exorbitant $1,542 to manufacture.
Apple Vision Pro Successor to Delay
This will allow Apple to cut the cost of manufacturing the Vision Pro’s mixed-reality headset, which reportedly costs $456 when equipped with its 4K micro-OLED panels. The launch of the Vision Pro successor could then be pushed back to as far as the end of 2026, but it would be “critical” to get the cost of producing a second-generation product down before bringing it to the market.
As a result, the cheaper-to-make headset could give Apple’s mixed-reality prospects a sorely needed boost. The device may ship next year. Its architecture will be fundamentally different from the Apple Vision Pro prototype due to the reduction in a Mac in favor of an iPhone chipset and, in fact, less advanced display technology.
Also later this year, in an effort to stimulate sales, we will introduce Apple Vision Pro to the Chinese market. However, the future of this business unit will completely depend on the management’s ability to resolve the pricing issue. The same source claimed that Apple is set to reduce these costs by 50% through a close partnership with Chinese panel manufacturers SeeYA and BOE.
Once again, the terms of this collaboration in the long term are still uncertain, but feel free to expect more news on this in the coming weeks. Finally, everything depends on the future development of Apple’s Vision Pro lineup, with the company’s ability to solve the pricing issue playing a critical role in its further strategy in the mixed reality sector.
