Despite frequent speculation that Apple has quietly abandoned the Vision Pro product line, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman...Latest statementApple has not actually completely discontinued development of this product line. However, consumers looking forward to a successor to the Vision Pro should be prepared that the next generation of Vision Pro will be at least two more years away.
With market rumorsA more affordable version of "Vision Air"Apple has cancelled the project internally and is now shifting its focus on mixed reality (MR) and wearable hardware development, betting heavily on lighter smart glasses and AirPods with AI vision capabilities. It also includes a rumored new AI pin wearable device that may be similar in size to the AirTag.
Major overhaul of R&D resources: The Vision team shifts focus to "lightweight" and "generative AI"
Mark Gurman reports that while Apple is still developing new technologies and lightweight materials behind the scenes in an attempt to create a cheaper and less burdensome closed-back head-mounted device in the future, there are currently no such products in "active development".
The transfer of R&D resources is clearly the main reason for the long delay in the development of the next-generation Vision Pro. Many hardware talents who originally belonged to the Vision product department seem to have been reassigned to the "smart glasses" project team.
Moreover, Apple's current top guiding principle is to fully develop AI, which means the team must devote a lot of energy to the development of the next generation of Siri and accelerate the launch of new AI-driven wearable devices, including "AirPods with lenses" and the rumored "AI pin wearable device".
Disconnected retail system and high pricing: Minor facelift of the M5 fails to reverse its decline in the mainstream market.
Looking back at the Vision Pro's journey from initial hype to a rapid cooling of sales, some believe that the difficult retail launch of this $3499 device can be largely attributed to Apple's continuous weakening of its "physical retail staff system" over the past decade. Therefore, the current streamlined Apple Stores are clearly unable to provide the deeply customized experiences and promotional services required for such revolutionary, high-learning-cost hardware.
While Apple did release a "minor upgrade" to the Vision Pro with the M5 chip in October 2025, attempting to extend the product's lifecycle through a significant leap in underlying computing power, the lack of killer apps, the continued weight, and the persistently high price point mean that a simple chip upgrade is unlikely to make a significant impact on the mainstream consumer market.
A strategic shift from "replacing reality" to "augmented reality"
The Vision Pro proved that Apple possessed the ultimate craftsmanship to create top-tier spatial computing hardware, but its bulky, expensive, and physically isolated "closed" design ultimately went against the expectations of the general public for everyday technology products.
In comparison, Meta inRay-Ban Smart Glasses The huge success of Ray-Ban Meta made Apple realize that "unobtrusive wearing" combined with "AI voice and visual assistance" is the future of wearables that can be quickly monetized and accepted by the mass market in the short term.
Shifting its main resources to lightweight smart glasses and AI pins signifies that Apple's wearable strategy is retreating from the Hollywood sci-fi-like "replacing reality with screens" to a more pragmatic "augmenting reality with AI." While the Vision Pro won't be dead immediately, it will inevitably take a backseat over the next two years, becoming an expensive showcase product for a select group of developers, top medical or industrial users.
As for Apple's next "iPhone-level" innovation, it may not be worn on your head, but rather gently hung on your ear or chest.
