Macworld
There’s been organizational turmoil lately at Apple’s Vision Products Group, which created the Vision Pro headset. Following the completion of that project, the group was essentially disbanded as a coherent body, with constituent parts reshuffled under other reporting lines within the company. Vision boss Mike Rockwell took over the Siri brief from John Giannandrea, while the group’s hardware and software engineers are now spread out across multiple teams.
All this change might seem disruptive, and has reportedly led to fears of layoffs, but Apple is keeping its Vision-focused employees busy. And in the latest installment of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman reveals that the team is still working on not one but two new headsets to follow up on Vision Pro’s critical success but commercial failure.
The first is an obvious attempt to address the two obstacles preventing Vision Pro from achieving widespread adoption: its high price tag and substantial physical bulk.
“The new plan is to release a model that makes the headset both lighter and cheaper,” Gurman writes, noting that the first-gen Vision Pro version weighs almost 1.5 pounds and has received almost universal criticism about neck strain. He doesn’t explain how Apple will make the device lighter, though it will presumably turn to a different material than the original model’s aluminum frame or cut down on the size. He also fails to share details on how the price will come down, particularly in light of the current tariff turmoil.
These, then, are obvious upgrades Apple was always going to attempt if it went ahead with plans for a sequel to Vision Pro. A more interesting prediction is Gurman’s claim that a second headset will be designed specifically for use with a Mac.
“In January, I reported that Apple had scrapped work on augmented reality glasses that would tether to a Mac. Instead, it’s now working on a Vision Pro that plugs into a Mac,” he explains. “The idea is to create an ultra-low-latency system for streaming a user’s Mac display or for connecting to high-end enterprise applications. Some customers have been using the Vision Pro for things like viewing imaging during surgery or for flight simulators. Those are two areas where a user would want the least amount of lag possible–something that can’t be guaranteed by a fully wireless system.”
Apple already offers a feature that lets Vision Pro users wirelessly access their Mac’s display wirelessly, though the problems above have limited its success. However, a headset designed to plug into a Mac would likely be significantly cheaper and lighter and could be marketed as a pro accessory rather than a high-priced standalone item.
Ultimately, Gurman insists, Apple wants to create its long-awaited augmented-reality glasses, with an extremely low weight and discreet profile. He notes that Tim Cook is “hell-bent on creating an industry-leading product before Meta can,” but it’s still “many years” from launch. However, the two headsets currently in development could serve as a useful stopgap before the company gets there.
Source : Macworld
