Apple may be already lining up suppliers for a second Apple Vision headset

AppleInsider

A new rumor suggests that Apple has reached out to more manufacturers of small OLED-on-Silicon panels to gear up for another mixed reality headset alongside the Apple Vision Pro.

Inside of Apple Vision Pro

Currently, Sony supplies the OLED-on-Silicon (OLEDoS) panels used in the current Apple Vision Pro. The Elec, which covers Chinese industrial trends, says that Apple has sent a request for information to both Samsung and LG for possible panels.

According to the report, Sony will continue providing screens for the Apple Vision Pro, but has no plans to increase production capacity. It is thought that Sony provides Apple with up to 900,000 such panels per year.

An interesting component of the report claims that Apple is looking for production capacity for OLEDoS panels that are 2.0 to 2.1 inches. These are considerably larger than the Apple Vision Pro's current 1.42-inch panels.

However, the resolution target in the request for information suggests that the new panels would sport just half the resolution of the Apple Vision Pro panels. If accurate, this would suggest that the parts could be used in a less-expensive, lower-resolution mixed-reality headset.

Previous reports have suggested that Apple is interested in a lower-priced headset product. Such a product could rely on being tethered to an iPhone or Mac in order to lower the cost and reduce the need for expensive processors.

The company is said to also be continuing work on a future updated model of the Apple Vision Pro.

The OLEDoS panels used in the Apple Vision Pro use a technology that involves a white OLED panel with color filters, or wOLED+CF. Samsung already has a working production line for such panels, while LG does not at present.

In the report, Samsung is claimed to want to supply Apple with a slightly different technology that incorporates RGB pixels right into the OLED panel. This technology could deliver higher brightness levels than the current wOLED+CF technique.

The Elec is a prolific source of information from within Apple's supply chain, with a mixed track record. It does better on reports that detail the supply chain, and is far less accurate about what Apple's plans are. Saturday's report is more the former than the latter.

Rumor Score: Possible

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Pema

Apple has just notified its Aussie customers that the Vision Pro will become available July 12th. Great. The issue is that the cost of the unit + essential accessories will come to $7000 AUD. 
And here's the kicker, you only get 14-day money back guarantee. 
I need more than 14 days to trial a product that will set me back $7000 AUD. 
So I navigated over Meta and purchased the Quest 3, plus accessories which set me back $1100 AUD. And I get a full 30-day money back guarantee. I get the product, I trial it comfortably for 30 days, I like it, I keep it. I don't, I have got a whole month in which to decide. 

$1100 AUD doesn't blow a black hole in my budget, $7000 AUD does. 

Apple needs to come up with a better strategy to sell a $7000 AUD accessory. We are not talking about a couple of hundred dollars. No wonder sales are sluggish. I would say sales are dying in the US so now Apple has moved to sell it worldwide. 

9secondkox2

Keyword=“headset”

market=“nope”

chasm

Pema said:

$1100 AUD doesn't blow a black hole in my budget, $7000 AUD does. 
. 

I think a lot of people like yourself woefully misunderstand the Apple Vision Pro. Apple is well aware of the price tag in the US and now other countries.

This is not a "My Fisher-Price First Mixed Reality Headset" product in any way, shape, or form. Apple will happily sell you one, but it's not marketed nor aimed at people looking to replace their Mac, although for some people it could -- and you have doubtless spent more money on your Mac over time. I understand that a number of US businesses have invested in them for various industrial jobs and/or training. Nothing focuses you like wearing a helmet!

As the story above plainly states, Apple is working on a cheaper and lower-quality headset for consumers. They wouldn't do that if the public at large took zero interest in it.

Every time I've been in an Apple Store of late, there is a group of people waiting to do the demo of it. Will most of those people buy one? Probably not -- but they're getting a look at one future of computing for free, so why not?

This has also probably done well with wealthy technophiles, to whom even $10,000US represents the interest they earned on their holdings that week. Or just regular people who bought a bunch of AAPL back when it was cheap and have benefitted from that wise decision (I was once once of them, but that was a loooong time ago).

The Meta Quest 3 is a smart and sensible way for working-class people to experiment with VR/AR, but it's kind of a toy. The Apple Vision Pro isn't, and wasn't intended to be -- it's more of a proof-of-concept of one future of computing. To put this another way, I'd wager that your first car wasn't a $150K Maserati.

I appreciate your enthusiasm for wanting to investigate the product, but a demo at the Apple Store (when that is available to you) should show you the clear difference between the Meta Quest 3 and the AVP. Both have done what they were aiming to do. FWIW, I almost never buy the first edition of any electronic gear because I know in a year or two there will be a better version, and the first version will go on remainder sale.

entropys

Wake me up when they have a Vision Pro for the rest of us.

Kierkegaarden

Pema said:

Apple needs to come up with a better strategy to sell a $7000 AUD accessory. We are not talking about a couple of hundred dollars. No wonder sales are sluggish. I would say sales are dying in the US so now Apple has moved to sell it worldwide. 

I don’t believe sales are “sluggish” — Apple clearly stated that they would start in the US and roll out to other markets later in the year.  Well, it is later in the year and they are rolling out in additional markets — this was their plan, not a reaction to sales.  You sound like you’re more upset that the device costs what it does and that it doesn’t have a longer return policy.  It doesn’t sound like it is the device for you — that is fine, as it is not meant for everyone.

hammeroftruth

entropys said:

Wake me up when they have a Vision Pro for the rest of us.

What does that look like or cost?

chasm

hammeroftruth said:

What does that look like or cost?

Well, if one reads the article above (and this related article), it sounds like it would be a headset potentially made with less-premium materials and would sell for around half as much, so ... $1,500 to $2K, perhaps.

The article above suggests that it would feature larger panels for screens, but at lower resolution and a somewhat narrower field of vision. HTH.

currentinterest

I can understand a cheaper iPhone tethered headset may be appealing to some, but I have the AVP Gen 1 and am eagerly looking forward to Gen 2. Love the thing and have found it worth every penny. I am also looking forward to VisionOS 2 for the current headset, and eventually, the integration of Apple Intelligence. 

thrang

I did a few in-store demo's of the Vision Pro, and the last thing I would want to see is LESS resolution. I found text and icons to be quite soft, so despite the high native resolution of these panels per eye, I've come to learn what I am experiencing a low PPD (pixels per degree). I think the Vision Pro is 34 ppd, and the iPhone typical distance or a 65 4k TV at 7 feet away is about 90 ppd (see the video below as the source for this; presuming he is accurate) So while the best in the industry for headsets, it is significantly inferior tother everyday tech viewing at "normal" distances. 

Even at 8k per eye, it would be less than a iPhone, but probably good enough. As it stands, between the PPD issue and poor pass though quality, and noticeable glare - I cannot buy one, even though there is lots else to admire about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOH33sWgds8

miiwtwo

cheaper and standalone headset or else, put an A1x pro or m1, simple,

chasm

miiwtwo said:

cheaper and standalone headset or else, put an A1x pro or m1, simple,

Given that the AVP kind of straddles a line between being a spatial iPad and (now) a spatial Mac, I think you'll get your wish in AVP v2.

mattinoz

chasm said:

miiwtwo said:

cheaper and standalone headset or else, put an A1x pro or m1, simple,

Given that the AVP kind of straddles a line between being a spatial iPad and (now) a spatial Mac, I think you'll get your wish in AVP v2.

Remember that Apple needed the M4 to drive two panels in the iPad Pro every vision device will have the same requirements