Apple Vision Pro followup could be 18 months away
A new report is backing up a common rumor that Apple's next Apple Vision Pro may be a year and a half away from release.

Apple Vision Pro
Apple has, so far, released one mixed-reality headset, but you can certainly expect more hardware to be on the way. If a rumor in a new report turns out to be true, then the next release could end up being in the middle of 2025.
Briefly mentioned in his "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg on Sunday, Mark Gurman offers to readers that Apple "is probably at least 18 months away from launching a second-generation Vision Pro."
Gurman doesn't go into detail about the timing beyond the 18-month timespan. He also doesn't qualify whether the comment is based on external sources with knowledge of development plans or an educated guess.
And, it's not the first time we've heard a late-2025, early-2026 timeframe.
Even so, it seems to be a plausible timeframe for a future Apple release.
Apple Vision Pro 2 -- the ballpark schedule
For a start, Apple's development cycles for new products can be quite lengthy. Once it decides to create a new version of an existing product, Apple takes well over a year to create the next iteration, in part due to the sheer size of its operations and supply chain.
When coming up with a completely overhauled update to an existing device, Appel can take a while to produce it. For example, a 2017 interview with former Apple design chief Jony Ive revealed that Apple took over two years to develop the iPhone X, due to its introduction of a brand new edge-to-edge display and Face ID in its design.
This is, of course, different from coming up with the crucial first-generation model, which in the case of the Apple Vision Pro took quite a few years to implement.
For iterations that don't make as many changes, Apple can shorten this period down, potentially to as little as 18 months. For a device that is produced in considerably fewer quantities than the iPhone, an item like the Apple Vision Pro can have a shorter lead time due to not needing as many infrastructure changes.
A release in about a year and a half's time would be a little beyond the 2025 edition of WWDC. With Apple showing off the first Apple Vision Pro at WWDC 2023, a reappearance of a new generation model two years later at the same event feels fairly right time-wise.
Apple is also reportedly working on a new cheaper version of the Apple Vision Pro. Potentially a consumer-focused release, the lower-cost model is still rumored to be arriving in late 2025, again making 18 months seem quite possible for Apple to meet.
The tendency for Apple to introduce annual updates to its products also doesn't really apply to the Apple Vision Pro. As a first-generation device, there is no established cadence for updates as yet, and with expectations that Apple won't hit its stride with headsets until the fourth generation, a yearly update schedule seems to be a bit too rapid this early.
Rumor Score: Possible
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
The M4 would increase efficiency and performance, and possibly allow an embedded battery for the same 2 hours of use the the VP sees.
I would be shocked that Apple does did not develop multiple variations at the same time and will release versions strategically...
https://www.techpowerup.com/309200/oled-tv-prices-predicted-to-fall-in-2023-and-2024#g309200-2
It's a slow drop but roughly 20% every 2 years.
Apple Vision parts cost $1700 -> $3500 retail. The OLED displays are said to be $700. If they can get a 30% drop in 2 years, they can drop retail price to $3k.
It doesn't sound like a lot but Vision Pro 1 refurbs will go down to $2500 or less.
M4 in 2025 will also be more efficient than M2 e.g 2/3 the power usage at the same performance.
AVP1 (2024) = $3499, 2.5 hour battery life, 600g, M2 (5nm), component cost = $1700
AVP2 (2026) = $2999, 3.5 hour battery life, 500g, M4 (3nm), component cost = $1500, AVP1 refurb = $2500
AVP3 (2028) = $2499, 4.5 hour battery life, 400g, M6 (2nm), component cost = $1300, AVP2 refurb = $2000
AVP4 (2030) = $1999, 5.5 hour battery life, 300g, M8 (1.4nm), component cost = $1000, AVP3 refurb = $1500
The main new features of M3 are better GPU and battery life due to 3nm. AVP is in need of both. The original iMac got 3 major upgrades within 9 months. The first 2,5 months after launch happened to deliver a much improved GPU and it didn't stop customers from buying. Apple should iterate quickly on the hardware, get M3 shipping, and when M4 is delivered later this year... then give it a M4 for more neural engines. Having hot-swap for power would be nice. But next gen design... sure that could take a few years.
Instead I'd imagine they will release an AV less the external OLED screens and other bits which I don't particularly find useful but others might in an office scenario? But let's be realistic, if they improve the persona to the point where I can have a spatial FaceTime call and feel like I'm there in a crowd of folks then the external OLEDs only add complexity, weight and cost
Refurbs would let the new owner order face shields and headbands to suit themselves. They could even offer customer-to-customer transactions using AppleCash and take a fee. It would be a genuine sustainability measure for them to back the life span of their own products.
They even go as far as having a robot they deploy to distribution centres that could change out the soldered SSD chips on refurbable devices.
The first Macbook Air was $1799:
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/specs/macbook-air-core-2-duo-1.6-13-specs.html
Within 2 years, it reached $999 (45% price drop) and that entry price remained. Same with the Retina MBPs, everything is Retina now, even the cheap iPads.
Apple Vision Pro has a Macbook Air inside it. A similar 45% price drop would be a retail price of $1999.
One of the most talked about features is the personal cinema. If they launched a product just for movies and nothing else, that would probably sell ok. But this still needs the expensive display panels. It might not need the power of the M2 chip because it would just be rendering an unlit video. If they can render 3D video with a lower power iOS chip like A18, they might be able to get rid of the fans and motors. No front-facing display, no fans, cheaper processing chip, video-only (movies and display mirroring).