Apple Reportedly Ended Vision Pro Production

There is one new report that suggests tech giant Apple could cease production of its Vision Pro mixed reality headset by the end of the year following lacklustre sales. This virtual and augmented reality headset was designed to allow users to create a private 100-foot cinema screen. However, it has reportedly been met with a lukewarm reaction and underwhelming sales figures due to its high price tag and limited content offering.

Despite it launching outside of the US only earlier this year, the Vision Pro – which retails for US$ 3499 – was billed as a revolutionary venture in Apple's product portfolio when it was announced in 2023, and it caught the interest of many thanks to its immersive movie watching capabilities.

At that time, it was anticipated to bring a greater sense of immersion to the movie-watching experience, while also acting as a private home cinema that could be taken on the go. For instance, its Micro-OLED displays (one for each eye) was primed for movie watching, while Spatial Audio via AirPods complete the immersive package when it comes to cinematic sound.

Just a year on, Apple has reportedly told manufacturers to scale back production greatly, which could indicate that it has a sufficient number of units to sustain the current model for the rest of its expected lifespan. As reported by MacRumors, some manufacturers stopped producing components as early as May this year due to weak sales forecasts.

Apple has also supposedly informed Luxshare, which assembles the Vision Pro headsets in China, that it could be required to "wind down production" by November of this year; for reference, the company is reportedly producing 1000 Vision Pro units per day, which is half of what it was producing during peak demand.

If that doesn't spell enough trouble for the headset, further suggestions that the development of a second-generation headset is stalling also signals a troubled future for the Vision Pro. Instead, Apple is possibly looking at options to develop a cheaper headset in the meantime, suspending plans for a true replacement to the Vision Pro for at least a year.

MacRumors suggests that Apple might release a small specification-bump version of the Vision Pro with an upgraded processor while retaining the current design in order to use up a backlog of manufactured parts if it does decide to update the headset.