Apple Halts Production Of Vision Pro Amid Weak Demand, Shifts Focus To Affordable Mixed-Reality Headset

Apple’s ambitious mixed reality project, Vision Pro, has seemingly taken a significant blow. This comes as there are reports that the first-generation Vision Pro’s production has officially halted, due to relatively underwhelming demand and increasing production difficulties Apple is facing in the mix-reality space.

Launched in early 2024, the Vision Pro was touted as Apple’s flagship product in the emerging world of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), but its high price point and lack of compelling content seem to have limited its appeal.

Production Cuts and Halt

Sources close to MacRumors said that Apple had started to cut down on production during the summer of 2024, with Luxshare, one of its assembly partners, cutting its daily output to 1,000 units in October. That was a 50% drop from previous levels, which suggested that the Vision Pro was not selling as much as Apple had anticipated. In November, it is said that Apple asked Luxshare to completely shut down production because the company had enough stock to meet demand until 2025.

The overall production number is around 500,000 to 600,000 units, far less than the estimated goal. Most of its components remain unsold in warehouses. The reasoning behind this move might be overproduction avoidance while Apple finds ways to handle its inventory efficiently.

Vision Pro: Super Expensive?

One major barrier to the Vision Pro has been its price. Targeting a specific market of tech enthusiasts and early adopters, it was positioned as an ultra-premium product with a retail price of $3,499. Demand has been ambivalent even among this demographic, suggesting that the product’s high price and dearth of interesting and varied content limited its appeal. Customers won’t jump if there aren’t enough exciting applications to allow them to experience the device’s revolutionary mixed reality.

Turn To More Affordable Headset

As a response to the Vision Pro’s failure, Apple is now focusing on developing a more affordable mixed-reality headset. Suppliers have been told to prepare for the production of up to four million units of this new, lower-cost device, half the initial target of the Vision Pro. Details about the new headset are scarce, but it is clear that Apple is aiming to broaden its appeal to a wider consumer base by lowering the entry price for mixed-reality experiences.

Second-Generation Vision Pro Delayed

Despite the hold on the first-generation model, the long-term dream of Apple in terms of mixed reality remains. On the other hand, there are claims that the work on the second-generation Vision Pro has been stalled for at least a year as a result of concentrating on the cheaper model that is expected to become the company’s flagship in the next few years.

Apple may still release an incremental update to the Vision Pro in late 2025 or early 2026. This update would likely feature minor design changes, including the integration of an upgraded M5 chip and enhanced intelligence features, which would improve performance and offer more advanced AR and VR capabilities. These updates will likely utilize existing components from the first-generation model to manage excess inventory and maintain market interest.

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