Apple Scales Back Vision Pro Production Amid Declining Sales and Market Challenges

Apple sharply cuts back on Vision Pro production, The Information reports

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab has sharply scaled back its Vision Pro production since early summer and could stop making the existing version of the mixed reality headset by year-end, the Information reported on Wednesday, citing people involved in building its components. Sales for the device have been waning after initial enthusiasm following its launch in February, due to the headset's hefty price tag and competition from cheaper options including Meta Platforms' (META.O), opens new tab Quest. Advertisement · Scroll to continue While Apple's Vision Pro starts at around $3,500 in the U.S., Meta's Quest 3 headset has a price tag of around $500. According to the Information report, employees at three Vision Pro suppliers have so far built enough components to make between 500,000 and 600,000 headsets. One of the employees said their factory suspended production of Vision Pro components in May. Apple in recent weeks has also told the device's assembler, Luxshare, that it might need to wind down its manufacturing in November, the report said, citing an employee at the manufacturer. Advertisement · Scroll to continue The iPhone maker did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Information had reported in June that Apple was working on releasing a more affordable Vision product with fewer features before the end of 2025 and suspended work on its next high-end headset. Apple launched the Vision Pro in international markets earlier this year to reinvigorate demand at a time when it rushes to incorporate artificial intelligence into its flagship mobile devices to get ahead of rivals. Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Report: Apple Cuts Vision Pro Production Amid Declining Sales | PYMNTS.com

The days of Apple's Vision Pro mixed reality headset could either be numbered or counting down to a version 2.0. Citing unnamed sources involved with building the Vision Pro headset's components, a Reuters report Wednesday (Oct. 23) said that production has been significantly reduced. A source at Luxshare, the device's assembler, said that Apple communicated to the company "that it might need to wind down its manufacturing in November," the report said. Another source even said their factory suspended production of Vision Pro components in May. So far, Apple has not responded to the report. In an April blog post, Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of worldwide developer relations and enterprise marketing, touted the device's spatial computing for customizing workspaces, collaboration with 3-D designs, and potential for delivering specialized employee training and guiding remote fieldwork. "There's tremendous opportunity for businesses to reimagine what's possible using Apple Vision Pro at work," she said. But those tools come with a high price tag. The Vision Pro mixed reality headset starts at $3,500, compared to competitors like Meta's Quest 3, which is priced around $500. According to Reuters, sales dropped after an initial surge of interest when Apple launched the product in February. "Apple launched the Vision Pro in international markets earlier this year to reinvigorate demand at a time when it rushes to incorporate artificial intelligence into its flagship mobile devices to get ahead of rivals," Reuters said. Also, in April analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a blog post that Apple initially anticipated shipping between 700,000 and 800,000 units in 2024, but then revised that expectation down to between 400,000 and 450,000 units. Meanwhile, other reports suggest that Apple is pivoting, perhaps working on a more affordable Vision Pro product targeted at a broader consumer base. Highlighting a post on X by Kuo, AppleInsider.com hinted that the next generation of Vision Pro will come with the AI engine Apple Intelligence. However, Apple may have bigger problems than lack of interest in the Vision Pro. A PYMNTS report said that U.S. sales of the California-based company's signature product, the iPhone, have "remained relatively flat since the 2020 -- which is part of the reason Apple stopped reporting the number of devices sold."

Report: Apple may stop producing Vision Pro by next month

A new report from The Information says Apple has steeply reduced production of the company's Vision Pro mixed reality headsets. According to what the publication calls "multiple people directly involved in building components for the device," the Cupertino company could stop making the headset as soon as November. This comes quickly on the heels of a Wall Street Journal interview where Apple CEO Tim Cook conceded that the headset was failing. "At $3,500, it's not a mass-market product," Cook told WSJ's Ben Cohen. "Right now, it's an early-adopter product. People who want to have tomorrow's technology today -- that's who it's for. Fortunately, there's enough people who are in that camp that it's exciting." The report is a mixed bag, suggesting that the scaled-back production indicates that Apple has enough inventory to meet the projected demand for the headset. This coincides with news that Apple halted work on a second generation of the Vision Pro due to low sales. It has been reported that Apple is working on a cheaper model that may be released next year, though at an alleged $2,000, it may not be enough to get consumer attention. According to The Information, Apple suppliers are sitting on enough components to build between 500,000 and 600,000 headsets, with at least one supplier's employees claiming that their company hasn't built new parts since May. It has been claimed that Apple has sold 370,000 headsets this year but is only supposed to sell 50,000 more before the year's end. Apple told one of its suppliers that it needed to wind down production in November. The company, Luxshare, is supposedly making 1,000 Vision Pro headsets a day, half of its peak. Meanwhile, Apple's biggest competition in the space, Meta, announced the new entry-level Meta Quest 3S at the end of September, which is significantly less expensive at $299 for the base model and $399 for a 256GB version. Even the more powerful Meta Quest 3 starts at $499, just over 85% less expensive than the Vision Pro. For comparison, according to AR Insider, Meta sold close to 3 million Quest 3 headsets in the first three quarters after launch. The Quest 3S is a little too new to extrapolate on sales data for that device. The Vision Pro has been one of the biggest gambles in recent Apple history, though, as Cook said in the WSJ interview, the company wants to embody the ethos of "Not first, but best." This was said about Apple's delay in putting artificial intelligence features in their devices. "We're perfectly fine with not being first," Cook told the Journal. "As it turns out, it takes a while to get it really great. It takes a lot of iteration. It takes worrying about every detail. Sometimes, it takes a little longer to do that. We would rather come out with that kind of product and that kind of contribution to people versus running to get something out first. If we can do both, that's fantastic. But if we can only do one, there's no doubt around here. If you talk to 100 people, 100 of them would tell you: It's about being the best." Does this mean Apple will continue to iterate on the Vision Pro to create the "best" headset? Time will tell, and we'll know if they release a less expensive model next year, as has been reported.