According to a new report from The Elec, Apple is aiming to reduce the cost of the Apple Vision Pro from $3,500 to just $1,500. As? Apple is apparently reworking one of the most expensive components of the headset: its two 4K Micro OLED screens.
A breakdown of the “material costs” for the headset estimates that it costs Apple about $1,500 to produce each unit. Of these, the Vision Pro screens are priced at almost $500, so this is the first place to cut costs. Accordingly The electric, Apple is investigating how the price of displays can be reduced by up to 50 percent.
According to The Elec, Apple is currently considering companies like SeeYa and BOE to expand its display supply line alongside its only existing micro-LED supplier Sony. Relying on a single supplier can slow down the production process, and Sony is likely operating at full capacity to meet Apple’s shipping needs.
Dividing the work across multiple display manufacturers could also reduce costs. Of course, given Apple’s high standards of quality control, these discussions with SeeYa and BOE may come to nothing, and we’ll see Apple once again rely on Sony as the exclusive supplier for the second-generation Vision Pro.
We’ll probably have to wait quite a while before we see an affordable version of the Apple Vision Pro It is expected that the market launch of the second generation could take place sometime between 2025 and 2026.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman previously said that Apple was discussing the possibility of paring back some of the Vision Pro’s technologies and features to reduce costs. These options include fewer cameras, lower resolution displays, and an iPhone chip compared to the M-series MacBooks.
Gurman said the final device will likely be called that Apple Vision or Apple Vision One to point out that it is related to the Apple Vision Pro but not as complete.