Apple is reportedly cutting the shipment forecast for its Vision Pro mixed reality headset for the rest of 2024 due to lower than anticipated demand.
Apple had cut Vision Pro forecast even before it was launched outside of the U.S., and it now expects to sell around 400,000 to 450,000 units in 2024, compared to the “market consensus” of 700,000 to 800,000, analyst Min-Chi Kuo said.
Demand for the Vision Pro dropped much lower than what the company was expecting.
Apple is also reportedly adjusting its headset roadmap, possibly paving the way for a lower-cost headset beyond 2025 (if at all).
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The Apple Vision Pro, initially launched in June 2023, was officially launched in the U.S. in early 2024. The mixed-reality headset was seen as Apple’s attempt to wrest the nascent headset market away from Meta, however, the device’s $3,500 price tag kept all but the most dedicated Apple fans and business users away from the product.
While the Vision Pro received praise for setting a new bar in headset technology with its unique operating system, VisionOS, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in his review compared the headset to his own company’s Quest 3 and concluded that Meta’s product was better.
Apple is often considered to be the trendsetter in the new product markets, and poor performance of its headset could have an impact on the whole industry.