Here’s how Apple could make the next Vision headset more affordable

A new report suggests that Apple may be lining up plans for the launch of its more budget-friendly Vision headset. As spotted by Wccftech, the report comes from analyst firm TrendForce, which indicates a move away from the high-end micro-OLED panels used in the Vision Pro.

New options include glass-based OLED displays, as well as a different form of OLED known as LTPO backplane technology, which was first used on the Apple Watch Series 4 in 2018 Since then, it has become a familiar display technology that has been applied widely in the smartphone and watch industry.

That would mean moving away from Sony, which supplied the Vision Pro’s micro-OLED displays. Producing micro-OLEDs remains expensive and inefficient and, according to consulting firm YoleGroup, “requires heavy investments in equipment and dedicated production lines to handle growing volumes.”

Trendforce’s report reconfirms that the Vision Pro 2 will continue to use micro-OLED and will even have a resolution higher than 3,000 pixels per inch. But even there, Apple will look beyond Sony to cut costs.

Based on the name alone, the implication was always that Apple would release a more affordable version of the Vision Pro. But now we’re starting to see that an element of Apple might be considering reducing the price. After all, Apple could only reduce quality so much before the headset lost what made it so special.

The price of the Vision Pro has always been its Achilles heel. Even Apple knew this. No one knows, but rumors say the cheaper next-generation Apple Vision and Vision Pro 2 are expected to launch in 2025. The base Vision could cost less than $2,000, while some reports say ‘Apple will reduce the price of the Apple Vision. Original Vision Pro and continue to sell it alongside the others.

But will this figure be low enough to allow these headsets to break into the mainstream? With the Quest 3 and even more affordable Quest 3S maintaining the sub-$1,000 category, Apple should make a strong case that its base model offers a significant step up from the $500 Quest 3.

Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is starting to restart production of mixed reality headsets, with Samsung and Sony leading the way. Even Microsoft has hinted at returning to the game. Meta and Google are also expanding the mixed reality headset ecosystem, opening up the new Android XR and HorizonOS to brands like Lenovo and Asus.