Apple has been pretty successful with most of its releases between smartphones to PCs, but it has been lacking in the AR/VR department. Aiming to fix that, the tech giant is rumored to be developing a cheaper version of the Apple Vision Pro, but you might need other Apple products to even use it.
Cheaper Apple Vision Reliant on an iPhone or Mac
There have been rumors that Apple is no longer working on a next-generation Apple Vision Pro so it can pour its resources into creating a cheaper version. It's already expected that there will be fewer features to match the price, but there is another catch to consider.
Users might need to purchase or already own an iPhone or a Mac in order to use the rumored Apple Vision version. Codenamed N107, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the device will need to be tethered to the mentioned Apple devices.
In case you don't know, the Apple Vision Pro already has a tether, but it only connects to a battery pack and not another device. In a way, the rumored version will only be realistically cheaper if the user already has Apple devices on hand.
It will be similar to other VR headsets like the PS VR 2 which needs to be connected to a PS5 to function. In addition to that, it has been reported that the cheaper Apple Vision will have a narrower field of view, as reported by 9To5Mac.
As to why it will need to be tethered to a separate device, Gurman's report said that it would allow Apple to "save money on the processing power and components needed to make the Vision Pro a fully standalone product."
Despite already compromising on certain features to lower costs, Apple is said to still be struggling to get the price down without having to sacrifice critical features. Without components for processing power, there might actually be a significant decrease in price.
Apple Will Still Work on the Next-Gen Vision Pro
While it has been set aside, Apple is not completely abandoning the next-generation Apple Vision Pro. Gurman said that the codename for the project is N109, and it will have improvements to answer complaints about the current generation model.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Lio said that the Vision Pro 2 or whatever it will be named will be released within 2025, although it might be in the latter part of the year. It is also expected to be around the same price as the Apple Vision Pro around $3,500.
According to Digital Trends, it might have Apple's M3 or M4 chip, simply because the current model is "not powerful enough to output graphics at a level Apple would ideally like," as mentioned by Mark Gurman.
Kuo added that the cost of the next-gen Vision Pro will likely increase to "improve the visual experience and form factor design." Either way, it might be a while before we see the official successor of the Apple Vision Pro since the cheaper version has been prioritized by the company.
