According to the latest news from overseas media, Apple's strategy in the high-end headwear device market has recently undergone significant adjustments, with plans to suspend the development of the next generation Vision Pro. Instead, Apple will release head display devices with fewer features and lower prices by the end of 2025.
However, Apple has not yet responded to this matter.
It should be mentioned that Vision Pro is about to be officially released in China, with a price of nearly 30000 yuan. In the industry's view, this significant strategic change by Apple at this time may have a negative impact on the release of Vision Pro in China and even in the Asia Pacific region.
Or lower priced headsets may be released
The report cites a supplier of key components produced by Vision Pro, stating that Apple has told at least one supplier to suspend work on the next generation of high-end headsets. Apple will strive to release head display devices with fewer features and more affordable prices by the end of 2025.
It is reported that Apple made this decision because the sales of the $3500 Vision Pro device have begun to slow down, and Apple is reassessing its product line and research and development focus.
After its official release in the United States in February this year, Vision Pro experienced a brief period of popularity. However, subsequent market feedback on the use of Vision Pro was not ideal.
Independent reviewers have criticized Vision Pro for lacking content, poor comfort, and limited usage scenarios. Some bloggers and columnists have pointed out that some users have stopped using the device as a result. In the industry's view, Vision Pro is still a niche product.
Apple previously estimated that Vision Pro sales could reach 800000 units by 2024. But after the Vision Pro cooled down, Apple recently lowered its sales forecast by nearly 50%.
It is reported that Apple originally planned to divide the Vision product into two styles, similar to the iPhone Standard Edition and Pro Edition. However, over the past year, Apple has been lowering the priority of the Vision Pro next-generation product, gradually reducing the number of employees allocated, while focusing on reducing the component costs of the first generation product.
In addition, Apple began developing a low-priced Vision product called N109 as early as 2022, with the goal of keeping the price of this product comparable to that of a high-end iPhone, with the latter reaching a maximum retail price of $1600.
Apple had originally planned to launch this more affordable product by the end of 2024, but until earlier this year, Apple had not yet launched a prototype of the N109.
Will it affect global distribution?
The timing of the current news of "suspending the development of the next generation Vision Pro" is quite subtle.
At the Apple Global Developers Conference held on June 10 local time, Apple just announced that Vision Pro will be launched in eight countries/regions outside the United States, including Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.
The specific schedule is to start pre ordering on June 14th and officially release on June 28th. According to Apple, the starting price for the domestic release of Vision Pro is 29999 yuan.
According to the reporter's understanding, not all domestic consumers can pre order Vision Pro. Currently, only Apple iPhone or iPad users can pre order online. Therefore, Vision Pro was once hyped up by the market. On the JD platform, the highest price for Vision Pro can even reach over 40000 yuan.
Moreover, Apple has previously had high expectations for Vision Pro sales in the Asia Pacific region. However, in the industry's view, this significant change from Apple at this time may have a negative impact on the release of Vision Pro in China and even in the Asia Pacific region.
According to Galaxy Securities, the limited sales of VisionPro in the United States are mainly due to three reasons: firstly, limited applications designed specifically for Vision Pro, resulting in a decline in user interest; The second reason is that compared to similar devices such as Meta Quest2, the price of Vision Pro is too high; The third issue is that Vision Pro faces issues such as battery pack endurance and wearing comfort caused by excessive weight.
The institution believes that in the short term, the global release of Vision Pro may still face similar challenges as the US region.
Will the partners be affected?
As early as May 13th, the website of the China Quality Certification Center showed that two new Apple devices have passed the national 3C quality certification, one of which is shown as a "wearable computer" with the model number A2117.
In January of this year, Vision Pro was certified and approved by the FCC in the United States, with the product code A2117. The information shows that the product is manufactured by Likai Precision Technology (Kunshan) Co., Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Lixun Precision.
As early as September 2023, Li Xun Precision stated that Li Kai Precision Technology (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. provided Apple with development and manufacturing services for products such as iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro.
However, when asked as an investor about the suspension of the next generation Vision Pro, the company did not comment.
In addition, Aishide is the largest service provider for Apple's channels in China. It operates its own Coodoo Apple Premium Dealer (APR) stores in core commercial districts of key cities nationwide, while managing and operating Apple authorized stores and branches. Currently, it has the agency rights for multiple series of Apple products, including iPhones, iPads, iWatches, computers, headphones, and more.