Apple’s Vision Pro headset has seen declining sales and interest since its launch in February. This is due to a lack of compelling apps and a high price point. Apple is reportedly working on a more affordable model, but it may not be released until 2025 or 2026.
Despite these challenges, Apple has a strong relationship with its developers and has been successful in turning around similar situations in the past. The upcoming WWDC 2024 will be crucial for the Vision Pro, as Apple will need to convince developers and consumers to invest in the platform.
In free fall?
If you read Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter, you’ll see some concerning reporting, at least from Apple’s perspective. Citing staff at Apple’s retail stores, Gurman claims that “Demand for [Vision Pro] demos is way down. People who do book appointments often don’t show up.”
Worse, the Power On newsletter adds that “sales — at least at some locations — have gone from a couple of units a day to just a handful in a whole week.” That suggests interest in the Vision Pro is in free fall.
It’s not just Apple Store sources that are painting this picture. Earlier this month, App Store analytics platform Appfigures published a story outlining how launches of new apps designed specifically for the Vision Pro (that is, not iOS apps that have been updated to work with the headset) have fallen dramatically since the headset was released in February.
Learning from the Mac
Together, Gurman’s report and the Appfigures investigation suggest that the Vision Pro could be in a serious decline, with both consumers and developers supposedly losing interest. If that’s true, this has the potential to become a vicious cycle for the headset, with consumers staying away due to a lack of apps and developers being discouraged by the lack of app users.
That’s the kind of situation Mac gaming faced for many years, yet Apple looks to be righting the ship there thanks to aggressive Mac performance improvements and a policy of working with developers to get their games onto the Mac. Could a similar thing be possible for the Vision Pro?
Good news and bad news
I’ll start with the good news: We know a cheaper Vision Pro headset is on the way. We’ve seen report after report from numerous highly reputable sources claiming that this is the case. When that happens, it’s usually a good bet that the prediction will come to pass.
OK, but what about the bad news? According to the latest rumors, the cheaper Vision Pro might not actually be that cheap, and it may not launch until 2025 or 2026. That’s a long time to wait considering the apparently declining interest in the headset, which means Apple risks waiting too long to play its hand. Will the device have completely run out of steam by the time the more affordable version arrives?
Ultimately, I don’t think Apple is overly concerned. With a $3,499 price tag, Apple always knew the headset would not sell in huge numbers. It’s a niche product competing in an immature market. It’s also made for first adopters and die-hard Apple fans, not the general public. Sales numbers were always going to start from a low base and were never going to be phenomenal.
I’m not excessively worried either, but that rests on Apple being able to quickly follow up with a more accessible Vision Pro that is priced much more reasonably. Apple needs the rumored cut-price headset, and it needs it fast. Right now, Apple has all the right pieces in place — the developer goodwill, the quality product, the interesting apps — but it needs to move things on quickly before interest totally fades. That is probably the most important issue the Vision Pro faces at this time.
