Vision Pro With M5 Chip Rumored for 2025, Apple Also 'Considering' iPhone-Connected Glasses

[MacRumors]

Apple plans to release an updated Vision Pro headset with its as-yet-unannounced M5 chip in 2025, according to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The current Vision Pro is equipped with the M2 chip, which debuted in 2022.

Kuo did not say if the updated Vision Pro will have any other new features or changes compared to the current model that launched earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Apple has delayed production of a cheaper version of the Vision Pro until "beyond 2027" for "a while now," according to Kuo. In the U.S., the current Vision Pro starts at $3,499, and this expensive price has surely limited sales.

"At $3,500, it's not a mass-market product," said Apple CEO Tim Cook, when asked about the Vision Pro in a recent interview. "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."

In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also touched on Apple's future plans for its Vision line of products.

Like Kuo, Gurman said that Apple is planning a "chip upgrade" for the Vision Pro, but he did not say if that will happen in 2025. He also believes that Apple continues to develop a cheaper version of the Vision Pro headset with "scaled-down technologies," but he did not provide a release timeframe for that product either.

Gurman added that Apple is "seriously considering" an iPhone-connected, glasses-like device.

"I also continue to hear that Apple is seriously considering a device that offloads the computing components to an iPhone and serves as an accessory for watching movies," he said. "That's something that would be roughly akin to the glasses offered by companies like Xreal. The benefit for Apple is that it would reinforce the iPhone as the center of its product ecosystem and offer something that could be a much more popular option than the $3,500 Vision Pro."

Article Link: Vision Pro With M5 Chip Rumored for 2025, Apple Also 'Considering' iPhone-Connected Glasses

 

[gpat]

"Considering"?
Apple Vision will never take off without an entry level variant.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Surprised they’re only ‘considering’ the connected glasses. Most would likely agree that when you have a computer as powerful as an iPhone, it makes sense to offload processing to it.

 

[barkomatic]

It seems I keep hearing that the next Vision Pro is delayed or cancelled with a cheaper version being prioritized and then I hear the opposite. Whatever version comes in 2025 or 2026 I hope it's accompanied by games and useful apps. Otherwise, its still just a novelty with very limited content and usefulness.

 

[UnbreakableAlex]

Will the M5 feature 2nm architecture?

 

[tubomac]

Too expensive, and if you use it outside, you look like an idiot.
And, by the way, those AR glasses from Meta look much more promising (besides the fact that I hate this company with all my soul).

 

[spaxxedout]

Vision Pro debuted in 2023. Please correct.

M5 would likely enable 120hz, bringing a host of advantages.

Edit: Writer referring to M2 chip, not Vision Pro.

 

[Le0M]

As much as we need a much cheaper device, I'm gonna say that offloading the computing power to an external device - iPhone - means that whatever version of Vision it'll come out, it'll be a stripped-down version, because no way the iPhone is powerful enough, and have enough battery juice to power an Apple Vision as great as today's. To make that happen, the screens will have lower res and lower brightness.

 

[unchecked]

Vision Pro debuted in 2023. Please correct.

M5 would likely enable 120hz, bringing a host of advantages.

But they will still keep it to 90hz because it’s “just enough”.

 

[gpat]

Vision Pro debuted in 2023. Please correct.

M5 would likely enable 120hz, bringing a host of advantages.

The sentence referred to the M2 chip, which debuted in 2022.

 

[Le0M]

Too expensive, and if you use it outside, you look like an idiot.
And, by the way, those AR glasses from Meta look much more promising (besides the fact that I hate this company with all my soul).

It's not meant to be used outdoor, really. It just replaces your work station, and the entertainment room.

 

[Chet-NYC]

Well, an M5 should bring improved battery life as well. They still need a less expensive Vision or Vision SE. Take out EyeSight- losing the front screen not only chops a ton off of production cost, it would probably help make AppleCare+ less expensive for that model as well.

 

[tubomac]

It's not meant to be used outdoor, really. It just replaces your work station, and the entertainment room.

You are right, but I‘ ve seen some of those idiots even crossing the road wearing it.

 

[Kylo83]

It needs to be cheaper and have a better FOV

 

[Karnicopia]

They could just be slow playing the glasses so Samsung and google don’t beat them to the punch. I think that’s kind of a no brainer for apple to make glasses that don’t have a lot of onboard processing but a lot of the iPhone sensors and a wireless chip like they have been using in AirPods and screens to overlay information which they have with Vision Pro and the iPhone can handle processing. It’s almost assembling parts they already have and I think they would sell a lot if they came in at like 400.

The killer app for me would be putting on a pair and watching a movie with the AirPods providing sound if they could do this well it would be great for travel. Also it may be good for just using your iPhone in general if they can do the interface well you would be able to have a screen similar to a desktop. Wonder if they could do like a finger ring you can use for control so you can make subtle gestures instead of waving your hands around like a wizard.

 

[endemize]

It seems I keep hearing that the next Vision Pro is delayed or cancelled with a cheaper version being prioritized and then I hear the opposite. Whatever version comes in 2025 or 2026 I hope it's accompanied by games and useful apps. Otherwise, its still just a novelty with very limited content and usefulness.

I just want it for work as my external monitors. It’s just too heavy and the resolution surprisingly needs to be a bit higher still.

 

[Mr_Ed]

The article mentions the possibility of an iPhone connected “accessory for watching movies.” Given what we’ve seen so far with the AVP, this makes more sense if they can make it significantly cheaper. Any notion of enhanced productivity compelling users to engage in spatial computing is pretty much down the drain, leaving media consumption as the most widely accepted use.

 

[frou]

I think they had to get AVP out of the lab to start finding out what real world users do with it. It could have been stuck in development limbo forever otherwise.

 

[Ctrlos]

The current Vision Pro has a confusing vision and is too heavy.

A continuation of the Pro model at top prices would allow Apple to market it like the Mac Pro and sell it directly to industry.

A cheaper USB-C peripheral device would allow them to upsell it to ecosystem fans and use that version for their entertainment vision.

Dropping the front display, replacing the visor with plastic, distributing smaller batteries around the headset and offloading the processing to an iDevice or Mac would allow for a lot less weight and cost.

What Apple should also do is build the tech into a lenticular Studio Display. This would only need to be $2000 as it would offload processing to the Mac yet would allow for 3D visuals and manipulation on a standard screen. They could also build a lenticular iPad.

 

[Ctrlos]

I think they had to get AVP out of the lab to start finding out what real world users do with it. It could have been stuck in development limbo forever otherwise.

The car project was just a way of mounting larger versions of the sensors to a car for real world data capture. They were never building an EV to begin with.

 

[Macaholic868]

Apple must not have gotten the memo from the AVP haters in these forums that the product is dead. Oops….

 

[AlexESP]

Surprised they’re only ‘considering’ the connected glasses. Most would likely agree that when you have a computer as powerful as an iPhone, it makes sense to offload processing to it.

A “dumb product” that only works with a phone is a very weird product, like those tablets powered by a phone we used to have in the past (even an Apple Watch can work without an iPhone).

It would be draining battery from the iPhone, the VP would still need a powerful processor for rendering, etc. If they do it, it’s just a compromise, not something you’d want in a product; a standalone device is much better.

 

[alfonsog]

I bet the trade-in value for Vision Pro 1 will be like $700 😂

 

[AlexESP]

The car project was just a way of mounting larger versions of the sensors to a car for real world data capture. They were never building an EV to begin with.

I think this doesn’t make any sense. They hired very specialised engineers, requested special licenses, designed interiors, etc. And, besides that: how is the data collected by a car’s LiDARs useful for VP development?

 

[PhotonPandur]

...Apple is seriously considering a device that offloads the computing components to an iPhone and serves as an accessory for watching movies," he said.

That's much better. Vision Pro is too expensive and heavy. Below two make more sense for now:

1. Vision: Tether to MacBook, seated use, limited see-through augmented reality. Expanded MacOS screens.
2. Vision Lite/TV: Tether to iPhone, VR only. Watch films and videos, play iOS games, etc.