According to well-known insider Mark Gurman, Apple is not abandoning attempts to create more affordable versions of its Vision Pro augmented reality headset, and ideally expects to release smart glasses with elegant frames that do not require displays to operate. A simplified version of the Vision Pro headset could hit the market next year, according to the source.
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Apple’s readiness to quickly expand the sales geography of the current Vision Pro headset for $3,499 after its February market debut, according to many experts, indicates a banal saturation of demand in those regions where it is already offered. Already next year, Apple will try to bring to the market a cheaper modification of Vision, and in the future it is preparing the second generation of its flagship Vision Pro headset. Only the rhythmic release of new products will not allow interest in this category of devices to die out not only from buyers, but also from application developers.
It is unlikely that the Vision series of devices will be particularly popular at a price above $1,500 per headset, but it is still difficult to say what compromises Apple is willing to make in increasing the availability of such products. According to Gurman, the company is also not abandoning attempts to create lightweight smart glasses, which in their dimensions and weight will differ minimally from ordinary glasses. At the same time, at this stage of technological development, Apple cannot offer full-fledged augmented reality glasses in a lightweight frame, so the nearest solution from this brand in this category will most likely be similar in its capabilities to Meta✴ glasses, created in collaboration with Ray Ban. They allow you to take photos and videos using a tiny built-in camera, as well as interact with a voice assistant through microphones. With all this, the Meta✴ device costs only $329 and can interact with a proprietary artificial intelligence system. Apple would certainly want to create something similar, as Mark Gurman summarizes.