Apple Vision Pro firmware hints at three distinct battery models
According to software update support for Apple Vision Pro released on Thursday night, there are three battery models to power the headset.

Apple Vision Pro, and attached battery pack
On Thursday, Apple rolled out the back-end that enables the Vision Pro to receive firmware updates. And in it, are details about models numbers of the Apple Vision Pro battery kit, so the back-end can identify specifically what version of a firmware needs to be deployed for a specific combination of hardware.
As Twitter user and frequent leaker "Aaronp613" points out, the Apple Vision Pro battery model is A2781. However, the firmware also references two other Vision Pro battery models with the model numbers A2988 and A2697.
The Apple Vision Pro battery has a model number of A2781.
The firmware released last night references 2 other Vision Pro battery models: A2988 & A2697 https://t.co/NyDSz6ylTn-- Aaron (@aaronp613)
It's currently not known what this means, specifically. The additional model numbers could reference batteries that need to be manufactured in accordance with other countries' standards.
It's also possible that the three models mean three different battery capacities.
Apple said at WWDC that the battery is not casually removable from the headset. There is a USB-C port on the battery for charging and directly powering the Apple Vision Pro.
The Vision Pro was announced at WWDC 2023, and is Apple's first foray into mixed-reality. The highly anticipated $3,500 device is set to release in 2024.
Apple has chosen to handle the development of the Vision Pro differently from its other projects. Instead of relying on various departments, they have established a dedicated division specifically for this task.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
They could have done it with a sizable internal battery and USB power delivery, but then all this upcoming legislation mandating easily replaceable batteries would bite them. They would probably also need to change away from glass for the outer face to hit their target weight. Apple uses plastics for AirPods, the Magic Mouse, and all of their keycaps, but they haven’t done plastic in front of a display in a long time.
Nobody has seen what this connecter to the headset looks like. I wouldn't be surprised if it is just 3 to 5 pins or contacts,
Without an internal battery, Vision Pro would just suddenly lose power. While that would be bad for any device, it is absolutely not tolerable for something covering your entire visual field. Further, the battery would need to be able to provide fairly high current. A capacitor bank could be used, but would take up a lot of volume, increasing the lever effect of the weight of other components (like the exterior glass) which have to be pushed further our from your face.
Part of the reason USB-PD is so bad is that it's built on USB 2, which is a nightmare of a protocol. Talk to anybody who has ever had to implement USB 2 at an electrical level. They will absolutely agree that USB-PD can't ever be remotely reliable enough for a battery-to-load connection.
If you can't notice it, what't the difference? It's only used for charging/powering, not data transfer.
The 72° counter-clockwise turn to unlock the charging cable looks to be a very elegant design to keep excessive weight off the device.
Proving once again Murphy's law that "whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time!" That's why it would be commodious to have a hot swappable battery.
You don't have facts and yet you're complaining already. It sounds like you're inventing your own problems before they exist... which I suspect is what why you think taking the train is always a better solution than flying.
IOW, I feel that Apple would try to keep users from switching battery packs as this is already not a common setup with any Apple product and the battery pack being external seems to be done to keep weight done on the device.
My feeling aside or how I might approach this problem with my limited knowledge, at the very least I have to acknowledge that countless Apple engineers have been spent many years perfecting this device so crying foul on a product when all the evidence isn't in seems a tad foolish. I'll wait for the developers who get the first run of the device before I move the needle on how I feel about the upcoming product.