Vision Pro: First upgrade this year?
Apple's first mixed reality headset has been available since spring 2024. Now the second version is supposedly coming soon – with important improvements.
Expensive and with good image quality, but heavy and uncomfortable: the first Vision Pro.
(Image: Apple)
Will Apple launch a second version of the Vision Pro this year? The usually well-informed Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman claims to have heard information to this effect and predicts various new functions for Apple's second headset. Apple allegedly wants to solve at least one of the biggest problems of the first version – and also deliver other improvements, according to the report.
New suspension brings head relief
The Vision Pro currently suffers from two main issues: it is, at a minimum of 4000 euros, very expensive and rather limited in wearing comfort due to its weight and cable-connected battery. On the other hand, Apple has received a lot of praise for the high-resolution screen, the immersion, and the eye and hand tracking, which the competition from Meta (Quest), for example, has still not achieved. Apple is now planning to at least partially solve the comfort problem, according to Gurman.
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According to Gurman, an updated Vision Pro, which may be released in 2025, will feature a new suspension system including a headband so that the headset can be worn comfortably for longer. Apple currently supplies two different bands, but they don't fit everyone well. Accessory providers are trying to remedy this. Apple is said to be testing new headbands internally that can help prevent both head and neck pain. However, it is said that the Vision Pro itself will hardly be any lighter, even in the second version.
More performance thanks to M4 chip
According to Gurman, Apple also plans to improve the inner workings of the Vision Pro 2. Instead of the outdated M2 SoC, it will now be an M4, but not the M5, which will probably be released for the first time in the fall. It is conceivable that Apple will give the built-in AI unit (Neural Engine) more cores. Many important areas of the Vision Pro, such as eye tracking, are controlled by it. The aim of the upgrade is to keep the Vision Pro relevant. The first model was launched on the US market in spring 2024, followed by Europe in the summer. The device is apparently not selling very well. Apple recently announced a new operating system, visionOS 26, which includes eye scrolling and new avatars.
According to Gurman, a “real” new Vision Pro is not expected until 2027. Among other things, the redesign is intended to significantly reduce the weight of the headset. A new model with Mac tethering for professional applications is also planned, and Apple is still dreaming of real augmented reality glasses.
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