- cross-posted to:
- augmented_reality
- cross-posted to:
- augmented_reality
According to several people directly involved in the production of components, Apple has significantly scaled back production of the Vision Pro since early summer, reports The Information. Luxshare, which assembles the Vision Pro, has been informed by Apple that production may cease in November. Currently, Luxshare is producing about 1,000 Vision Pro units per day, down from a peak of about 2,000 units per day.
According to The Information, this decision indicates that Apple has built up enough inventory to meet demand. So far, suppliers have produced components for about 500,000 to 600,000 headsets.
Market research firm Counterpoint Research estimates that Apple sold about 370,000 headsets in the first three quarters of this year and will sell only 50,000 more by the end of the year.
Apple is now focusing on a cheaper model, known internally as the N109, which could be released by the end of 2025. Apple plans to produce a total of 4 million units of the device, The Information reports, citing a person familiar with the supply chain.
That’s more sold than I expected for the price. Seems like they had a good idea of how small the market would actually be. I never saw much in the way of a killer app for it that isn’t offered on other devices that cost less, although some of those are probably cutting costs by collecting and selling user data *cough*Meta*cough*.
It isn’t just the expense. There’s also the ‘have to wear special goggles/something strapped to your face’ issue. This led to market failure previously for:
- Stereographs (19th century)
- 3D cinema (20th century)
- 3D TV/video (21st century)
Good. Fuck Apple.