Report: Apple Makes Steep Cuts in Vision Production, May Stop it by Next Month
A recent report from The Information reveals that Apple has significantly cut back production of its Vision Pro mixed reality headsets. Citing “multiple sources directly involved in manufacturing components for the device,” the report suggests that the Cupertino company might halt production of the headset altogether as early as November.
This comes soon after a Wall Street Journal interview in which Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that the headset was failing.
The Information reports that Apple has considerably cut down on its Vision Pro headset production since early summer. Apple informed Luxshare, the company that assembles the Vision Pro headset, that production may stop as early as November. Luxshare is currently assembling 1,000 Vision Pro headsets per day, a 100% drop from its peak of 2,000 units per day.
The Information reports that the decision also suggests Apple has accumulated sufficient inventory to meet demand. So far, Apple suppliers have produced enough components for 500,000 to 600,000 Vision Pro headsets. Recent reports have also indicated that Apple has stopped work on the second-generation Vision Pro due to dismal sales.
According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Apple sold approximately 370,000 headsets in the first three quarters of this year and it is expected to sell an additional 50,000 headsets by the end of this year.
There have been reports that Apple is building a cheaper model of the headset which might be launched next year and will be priced at about $2,000, still out of reach of the mainstream consumer market.
Apple’s main competitor, Meta, launched an entry-level headset in September- the Meta Quest 3S, priced at just $299 for the base model and $399 for the 256GB model. Even the more advanced Meta Quest 3 headset retails at just $499, 85% cheaper than the Vision Pro. There have been reports that Meta has sold close to 3 million Quest 3 units. There isn’t any sale data yet on the recently released Quest 3S.
Apple’s Vision Pro is a major product play for the company. Cook says the company is focused on not necessarily being the first but “the best” and that it will take time and a lot of iteration to hit the sweet spot in its XR hardware.
This likely implies Apple may continue iterating its Vision Pro headset in the coming years to create “the best” product for the market. It remains to be seen how Apple will hit that sweet spot while keeping prices low enough to compete with Meta’s low-priced, mass-market XR hardware offering.
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