At $3,499 for just the base model that ships with 256GB of non-expandable storage, the Apple Vision Pro was always going to be a tough sell for the majority of buyers, and the statistics prove that. The mixed-reality headset had failed to cross 100,000 shipments in the U.S. when the estimates were revealed in July, and even now, it does not look like customers are willing to take this massive financial undertaking. The lackluster sales were talked about with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who admits that the head-mounted wearable is not a product for the masses.
Customers who want to experience tomorrow’s technology today will buy the Apple Vision Pro, says Tim Cook
Talking with The Wall Street Journal’s Ben Cohen, Tim Cook addressed the poor sales of the Apple Vision Pro and said that the headset is not targeted to the mass market. However, customers who have an affinity to own ‘tomorrow’s technology today’ that is who it is for. Unfortunately, Cook says that there are not enough people ‘in that camp’ at this time. What Cook did not mention was the return rate of the Apple Vision Pro, as customers who possessed the means to make a purchase did not find utility in the device.
Given that there was an estimated $1 billion poured into the Apple Vision Pro’s cost for R&D alone, it is clear that the ‘less than stellar’ sales have yet to recoup the technology giant’s mammoth investment. To help increase the momentum of this product and to ensure that this category matures quickly, a low-cost version of the Apple Vision Pro is set to launch sometime in 2025. To reduce the components cost, which currently ramps up to a whopping $1,542 bill primarily due to the two 4K micro-OLED panels, Apple has to make some changes.
For instance, the Cupertino firm is said to have received panel samples from Japan Display with a pixel density of 1,500PPI, making it less than half of the Apple Vision Pro’s 3,386PPI, which should reduce the cost of the low-cost headset. Other downgrades, such as shifting to a plastic build instead of an aluminum and glass one, are also said to be one of the options, along with using an A-series chipset instead of an M-series one.
Even with all of these compromises, the affordable Apple Vision Pro is rumored to retail for around $2,000, which is still a large sum considering that there are a multitude of products from the company that have proven to be more useful for the price.
News Source: The Wall Street Journal
