Lighter Apple Vision Pro expected by early 2026

Who wants a pricey, heavy Apple Vision, Pro or otherwise? No consumer wants to pay more and be less comfortable. I can see a move to bring weight down to allow for a standalone premium Vision and then deliver both lower price and weight with a tethered version for the masses. Considering a capable Mac Mini can be had for well below $1,000, even if you had someone without a Mac to tether to, it might well be cheaper to get said Mini in tandem with the lower-cost Vision. Meanwhile there is an installed base of Mac owners who would be attracted to a far more affordable Vision that could be linked up with an existing Mac. Getting a tethered Vision in at a far more attractive price would be a game changer. 

CarmB said:

Who wants a pricey, heavy Apple Vision, Pro or otherwise? No consumer wants to pay more and be less comfortable. I can see a move to bring weight down to allow for a standalone premium Vision and then deliver both lower price and weight with a tethered version for the masses. Considering a capable Mac Mini can be had for well below $1,000, even if you had someone without a Mac to tether to, it might well be cheaper to get said Mini in tandem with the lower-cost Vision. Meanwhile there is an installed base of Mac owners who would be attracted to a far more affordable Vision that could be linked up with an existing Mac. Getting a tethered Vision in at a far more attractive price would be a game changer. 

I think it will get there. It again reminds me of the very first iPhone. It was an awesome new piece of technology that did things like nothing else on the market, even if it was entering a space already occupied by others beforehand...however it was very expensive at the time ($700-800 with a contract), was sorta thick and while it was awesome technically, it was also feature limited which I think is to be expected for a 1st gen product. AVP is no different here. 

Everyone is just way too god damn impatient and think everything Apple releases today needs to have the success of the iPhone of today straight out of the box, when even the original iPhone wasn't as successful as the iPhone of today. The MacBook Air is another good example. It was awesome for what it was in its original form, but was too expensive (cost upwards of $2100) and feature limited. Today, it's much cheaper, has great features for its intended market and is one of the best selling laptops, not only in the US, but the entire world! 

I would give AVP a few more years to mature, get VisionOS updated with more features and fixes, with a lower price it could be a successful product in the future. Too many people are taking the Steve Ballmer approach on this and don't see the same vision (no pun intended) as Apple does for this product. 

The AVP is a really strange device. It is by far the best Apple device I ever posessed and when I use it I wear it for 3-4 hours straight….but I use it maybe 2 or 3 times a week only. It is always a treat , almost like a reward . After several months I used it for Facetime the first time this weekend and it was really astonishing. I never liked video telephony but experiencing it handsfree and allowing to share what I see with others (while they look at my avatar) is really something different. With lightweight glasses starting from 2027 on, this will be a big seller. I also like very much the mirroring of my work ipad (under MDM) + a bluetooth keyboard. I still think that its successors are the future of computing…

bohler said:

The AVP is a really strange device. It is by far the best Apple device I ever posessed and when I use it I wear it for 3-4 hours straight….but I use it maybe 2 or 3 times a week only. It is always a treat , almost like a reward .

YES! I'm on the fence about to jump off into an Apple Store parking lot. Every time I read a negative opinion about the AVP it's always from someone who doesn't own one. More often they've never even used one.

Then I'm heartened  by posts like the above from an actual owner who has time on the clock with it. I stumbled on a r/AVP with more actual owners with time on the clock with a lot of good info. There were a couple of ex-owners who weren't happy, but it was great to read about how its used, hints and kinks, etc.

I don't understand the haters. Maybe they were abused children I don't know. I realize it's not everyone's cuppa but FFS, why hate? 

My main reason for not waiting (yet still on the fence) is that subsequent iterations may not have as high quality displays in order to reduce the price. Moving to Ti will be more expensive I'd think. Then there is the uncertainty of the tariff situation.

My time would be much the same as bohler's, 3-4 hours straight, maybe 3 times a week maybe more. I really need to bust a move.

Why would anyone ever hate a product that is a discretionary purchase? If they don’t like it they don’t have to buy it. If they don’t like it after buying it they can bring it back, sell it, or chalk it up as a costly purchase that didn’t deliver for them.