**Apple Inc. (AAPL) has reduced its anticipated shipments of Vision Pro by roughly half in response to a noticeable decline in demand. The Cupertino-based technology behemoth has revised its Vision Pro shipment estimates downward from an initial range of 700,000-800,000 units to a more conservative 400,000-450,000 units for 2024.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that Apple has been compelled to reconsider its overall headset strategy due to these adjustments. According to Kuo, demand for the Vision Pro has plummeted in the United States, prompting Apple to adopt a cautious approach to its international launch. As a result, Apple has reassessed its headset business strategy.
“Apple cut orders before launching Vision Pro in non-US markets, which means that demand in the US market has fallen sharply beyond expectations, making Apple take a conservative view of demand in non-US markets,” Kuo noted.
Kuo also hinted at the possibility that Apple may not release a second-generation Vision Pro in 2025, as had been previously speculated.
Apple had initially planned to manufacture approximately 400,000 Vision Pro headsets in 2024. It is possible that Apple increased this target prior to the Vision Pro’s February release, only to reduce it once more. Apple is anticipated to expand the availability of the Vision Pro at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.
The Vision Pro has been a subject of debate since its launch in February. Privacy expert Albert Fox Cahn criticized it as a “buggy beta test of a product launch,” raising concerns about increased surveillance. Despite these concerns, the headset has received praise from industry leaders, with OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman hailing it as the second most impressive tech development since the iPhone.
Apple’s shares experienced a modest increase of 0.23% in premarket trading on Wednesday, following a closing price of $166.82 on Tuesday.
