TECH NEWS – Apple would change many components to offer its AR headset at a lower price point.
The first model of the Apple Vision Pro will cost $3,500, and sure enough, the Cupertino-based tech company sees that as a pretty high bar for its consumers, so it’s planning a cheaper version that could be released in a few years. Apple could launch this for $1,500 to $2,000, but it would take a lot of sacrifices to bring the price down that much. For example, the budget version would not use a Mac chipset, but would be based on an iPhone!
The current Apple Vision Pro has two 4K microLED displays, which Apple sources from Sony, and that could be part of the reason for the price. Mark Gurman, writing for Bloomberg, wrote in his Power On newsletter that Apple’s management is discussing pricing for the cheaper edition, coupled with how the hardware will be modified. With the iPhone chipset, they may switch to a lower resolution display, so there would be fewer pixels on the screen and less stress on the weaker SoC (system-on-a-chip).
There is no word on whether there will be a co-processor like the R1, but the newsletter does mention that EyeSight will be left out of the cheaper, smaller and reportedly lighter AR headset. It’s a technology that sits on the external display and shows the wearer’s eyes. The price reduction can be achieved with fewer cameras and sensors. For those who wear glasses, the lens could be integrated directly into the headset in this way in the device, which in theory will not be released before 2025, but an analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, has previously stated that if the price can’t be sorted out by Apple, they may cancel the “discount” version.
Gurman also addressed how Apple updates iPhones while they are still in their boxes! The company doesn’t allow downgrading, i.e. switching to older firmware or iOS, and updates unopened devices by having employees hold a pad-like device that wirelessly resolves the update after they place the iPhone on the pad in its box. The phone turns on, gets updated, then shuts down… and all this is done with waves!
Doesn’t sound bad, but the case for the cheaper Apple Vision Pro is a tricky one…
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