Apple’s shifting Vision Pro priorities

Reports Apple is closing down Vision Pro production seem counter intuitive, given that in the last few days, Cisco and Vimeo have both released software for the high-tech headset, which is also now being used for pilot training.

At $3,500, the device was never expected to be a mass market product, as Apple CEO Tim Cook agrees. But it certainly continues to make its mark in enterprise computing — as well as offering big promise to entertainment.

The Information has a report in which it claims Apple has told its Vision Pro assembler, Luxshare, that it might need to wind down production in November. The report also cites sources from component suppliers that claim parts production for the device has also been reduced. The implication would suggest Apple thinks it has enough inventory on hand to meet demand, at least for a while.

Are sales slowing? The report suggests maybe, and the data points it provides include:

Production scale-backs began this past summer.

Enough components have been manufactured to create just over half a million headsets.

Some component suppliers ceased production in May.

Luxshare makes around 1,000 of the headsets each day, half the production peak.

All in all, the picture painted maintains the narrative we’ve seen since before the launch of Vision Pro — that it’s too expensive for the mass market. But, as Cook said just before the Information was published, Apple knows this already: “At $3,500, it’s not a mass-market product,” he said. “Right now, it’s an early-adopter product. People who want to have tomorrow’s technology today—- that’s who it’s for. Fortunately, there’s enough people who are in that camp that it’s exciting.” 

Who’s excited now?

We know the enterprise market is most excited about the potential of Vision Pro. We’ve heard multiple reports explaining its use in various industries, including during surgery. Just this week, Cisco introduced Cisco Spatial Meetings for the Vision Pro, which builds greatly on the Webex support the company already provides for the Apple product. 

For consumers, Vimeo this week did what YouTube has not, introducing an app that lets its users create, view, and share spatial videos. “This kind of spatial content is the future of storytelling, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of this revolution,” said Vimeo CEO Philip Moyer. 

Apple does seem to have succeeded in igniting interest among some unique usage scenarios. One that most caught my eye this week comes from CAE and is an immersive pilot training app for the device. This app has been designed so pilots can familiarize themselves with in-flight controls before they begin training flights. In recent weeks, we’ve also seen implementations in training, sales and marketing, medicine, engineering and beyond. Those are the people using tomorrow’s technology today at this time. While there are developers, Apple enthusiasts, and bored rich people spending on these devices, the biggest interest in them, as I’ve always said, is coming from the enterprise.

As the recent multi-million-dollar investment in a content delivery network for mass market spatial reality experiences shows, that’s going to change….

Waiting for tomorrow

Apple’s first calendar quarter is traditionally its slowest. With that in mind, it makes sense for Apple to slow manufacturing of its edgiest device in preparation for a muted sales season. Potentially shuttering production in November makes sense through that lens — particularly as Apple is expected to introduce a lower-cost device that also runs visionOS, which is what we’ve all anticipated for months. The Information once again confirms this theory — and also says development of a second generation “Pro” device has been delayed for a year, which was rumored before.

The report, however, also claims Apple might release what is described as an “incremental” updated to Vision Pro with limited changes, “such as a chip upgrade.”

Given the Vision Pro runs an M2 Apple processor, it makes sense to gloss it up a little with an M4, particularly as Apple is likely to introduce new Apple Intelligence features to visionOS next year. But 2025 is also when Apple is expected to introduce a smaller, more compact, and less expensive visionOS-powered system, one that potentially uses an iPhone as the CPU.

In other words, while there’s little doubt that introducing Vision Pro to a world battered by savage conflicts, accelerating energy costs, and political instability means Apple m ight not have met the lofty sales targets it originally aspired to meet, the idea that Apple is abandoning the product is far-fetched.

Production targets may have been lowered for now, but this is only the lull before the rollout of a more affordable product more of us can explore. I expect intimations of this as soon as WWDC 2025. 

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