Is there evidence Vision Pro production was ‘cancelled’ as opposed to just running its limited course as planned? Are there substantial leaks indicating its successor has been cancelled?
Early 2024: Apple supplier says planned production cut by 50%
Late 2024: Apple supplier says cheaper Vision Pro 2 (N109) cancelled
Late 2024: senior executive moved from Vision Pro to Siri/AI team
Early 2025: Bloomberg says tethered Apple AR glasses (N107) cancelled
There may be an SoC (e.g. M4/M5) refresh of existing Vision Pro 1 design.
This all doesn’t sound worth reading into. There are other interpretations to supplier leaks. Ditto re: execs moving between teams. Apple AR != Vision Pro. On the flip side Apple is still shipping updates, new content, and selling units. I’ll just wait and see.
It's true that 50% cut in production followed by a halt in production does not mean that Vision Pro development has stopped. A smaller number of employees could continue work and something could be released in a few years, like any R&D project.
In comparison, Meta smart glasses sold 2M units in 5 quarters. Essilor-Luxotica is increasing production to 10M units by the end of 2026. Perhaps to be expected at 90% lower cost than Vision Pro, but those volumes have kickstarted an app ecosystem for smart glasses, which has failed to materialize for the low-volume VisionPro.
If future 2027 Apple AR glasses appear with a subset of VisionOS, they will compete with incumbent products from Meta and Xreal. Some lessons learned and some apps developed for Apple AR could help Vision Pro and VisionOS, if Apple AR gains millions of users like Meta smart glasses.
> Across Vorrath's many high-profile Apple projects, she has been known for keeping work on schedule, and for implementing rigorous bug testing. Consequently, her move to the Apple Intelligence and Siri team is likely to be because the project needs to be given more impetus.
2025 versions of iOS, iPadOS and macOs are all being redesigned based on VisionOS, despite VisionPro production and successor cancellation.