TECH NEWS – Apple’s position on the AR headset is complicated, because for the rumored cheaper model, price is not the only issue to deal with.

The Apple Vision Pro’s minimum price of $3,500 has already made it a hard device to buy.However, one analyst says that even if a cheaper model of the headset were to come out, the Cupertino-based tech giant’s position would not change much.According to Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities, there is another problem besides price that is causing the product, which is considered technologically revolutionary, to lack momentum.

According to Kuo, users will get bored with the AR headset after just a few uses, making its usability extremely limited. As a result, thousands of headsets may have been returned to Apple for refunds.So it’s not just the price tag that’s the problem, but also the fact that the potential audience has no reason to use the headset regularly, or at least more regularly.

From my observations and personal experience, many people buy the Vision Pro and stop using it after just a few tries. If this is a common user case, simply creating a downgraded version with a more affordable price won't solve the problem.

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我的觀察，許多人 (包括我自身經驗)…

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) June 19, 2024

This may seem like a good reason to pause development of the Apple Vision Pro 2, but it hasn’t stopped the company from working on the cheaper model. Its release will come in about a year and a half, as it is expected to hit stores in late 2025.But this would also require support for the visionOS operating system, as the large user base will require many applications.Apple is currently lagging behind in this area as well, so it will have to address this issue.

The budget version of the Apple Vision Pro will reportedly be available for between $1500 and $2500.It might lose some cameras, it would not have EyeSight, it would use inferior displays, it would be based on the iPhone instead of the Mac SoC (system-on-a-chip), and it might have to compromise on comfort.

But none of this is official yet.

Source: WCCFTech