Apple's next Vision Pro could be cheaper — here's how

The Vision Pro is one of the more expensive pieces of tech in the VR/AR/XR space. With a $3,500 starting price, it's out of reach for most of us. Apple knows this, and the company is looking to lower the price of the next versions.

A new report from TrendForce, a Taiwanese research firm, said Apple intends to launch a next-generation Vision Pro and a cheaper, more mainstream headset. The latter could be named "Apple Vision," nixing the "Pro" part of the name. Apple will need to make some concessions to release a non-Pro version of its headset, and it'll be interesting to see precisely what it chooses to drop.

Regarding the next-generation Vision Pro, the report says Apple will source components and parts from suppliers other than Sony to reduce production costs. By reaching out to other firms, Apple would create competition that could decrease costs.

Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that the Vision Pro is not a widely appealing product due to its high price. "At $3,500, it's not a mass-market product," said Cook. "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."

However, if the company lowers the price while releasing a cheaper model, it could become a mainstream product. Apple's becoming a force in the space could put companies like Meta, with its Quest 3 virtual reality headset, on notice.

In its report, TrendForce said Apple could include OLED displays and LCDs with LTPO backplane technology in the more affordable model. Those offer a solid balance between performance and cost, which is what the company needs to do to get the headset to a competitive price.

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