Apple’s dream of a future where we’re all swiping and swooping through virtual and augmented reality versions of macOS and iOS might be at an end. That’s because poor sales have reportedly forced Apple to cut production and reduce the marketing budget for the Apple Vision Pro by 95%, according to market intelligence group Sensor Tower, as reported in the Financial Times.
I doubt this will come as a huge surprise to many who’ve been following the technology world over the past year or so, as the Vision Pro not only launched at a hefty $3,499 in the US, but was also limited to Apple platforms. This classic walled-garden approach is nothing new for Apple, as it has worked wonders for the tech giant in the past; yet this time it looks like it hasn’t paid off.
In response to this news, Editor-at-Large Lance Ulanoff noted, “I actually thought they cut back production last year, but maybe they imagined the M5 upgrade would make a big difference. (Narrator: It did not.).”
And I was in a similar thought boat to Ulanoff, as I also felt there had not been much chatter around the Vision Pro or visionOS last year, and I can’t really recall seeing anyone actually use the mixed reality headset.
In many ways, it’s a pity, as you’ll see in our Apple Vision Pro review, the technology in the headset is rather impressive. Equally, it did give the impression of a first-generation device aimed more at developers than a gadget for consumers, and thus a headset destined for a second generation, likely stripped back of some of the most advanced tech but given a more palatable price. This didn’t happen.
That’s not to say Apple’s work in augmented and mixed reality is over, as the Cupertino company currently has a few Vision Pro-centric jobs posted. But these appear to be more software-based, and I’d bet that whatever’s next for Apple’s AR won’t involve a three-grand headset.
Still a niche
Sadly, I think virtual reality is still a somewhat niche proposition, with augmented reality being more of a feature people might use in phone apps – think Pokémon Go – than with headsets. And cost is clearly a big factor, with our selection of the best VR headsets mostly looking at more affordable systems; the Meta Quest 3 being the standout.
And another sad point is, I’ve seen this before with the PlayStation VR 2. A fantastic virtual reality headset stuffed with smart tech and a couple of very impressive games, yet it failed to galvanize the vast amount of PS5 owners, with one of the core reasons surely down to its launch price being the same as an actual launch PS5.
I want nothing more than to see VR, AR, and mixed reality really become something special and widespread. But until price, accessibility, and software experiences can be refined and opened beyond the Meta Quest, I don’t think that future will crest the horizon.
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