What’s Going on with Apple Vision Pro?

Summary

MKBHD examines the 2025 Apple Vision Pro refresh, which received an M5 chip upgrade but remains largely unchanged in design and price at $3,500. The video explores why Apple appears to be scaling back Vision Pro development, noting that most users primarily watch movies on the device rather than utilizing its full capabilities. With Samsung finally entering the mixed-reality headset market and smart glasses like Meta Ray-Bans advancing rapidly, MKBHD suggests Apple may be shifting resources toward developing smart glasses, potentially scrapping plans for a “Vision Pro Air” lightweight version. The key takeaway: fewer people want to spend significant time in a face-computer than the industry anticipated.

Highlights

”The new one is actually heavier”

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“Matter of fact, the weight of the new one is listed as higher than the original because it comes by default with this new Dual Knit Band.” — Marques Brownlee, 3:02

”Most use has been watching movies”

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“It turns out most of the use of Vision Pro has been watching movies… which is a shame because it’s capable of so much more.” — Marques Brownlee, 8:05

”They scrapped Vision Pro Air for smart glasses”

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“There’s even been some other reporting that they’ve scrapped plans for a future lightweight version of the Vision Pro that was going to come up after this, like the ‘Vision Pro Air.’ And they’re shifting those resources to try to develop smart glasses.” — Marques Brownlee, 9:10

”Fewer people want a face-computer”

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“Turns out there’s way less people who wanna spend significant time in a face-computer, even if it’s really impressive.” — Marques Brownlee, 10:05

”Nothing quite like actual reality through glass”

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“There’s just nothing quite like having actual reality through some glass with some stuff overlaid on top.” — Marques Brownlee, 10:18

Key Points

• 0:19 - Apple released the M5 chip and put it in three devices: iPad Pro, 14-inch MacBook Pro, and Vision Pro
• 1:49 - The 2025 Vision Pro has the same dimensions, frame, glass, buttons, displays, cameras, sensors, LIDAR, R1 chip, and battery as the original
• 2:36 - Despite comfort complaints about the original, no weight reduction was made
• 3:02 - The new model is actually heavier due to the new Dual Knit Band with metal counterweights
• 3:21 - The original Solo Knit Band was uncomfortable and painful for extended use
• 3:57 - The new Dual Knit Band distributes weight better across the back and top of the head
• 4:39 - The Dual Knit Band is available separately for the old Vision Pro at $99
• 4:44 - New software features include more realistic Personas, Pinnable Widgets, and spatial scenes from photos
• 5:08 - M5 improvements: faster app loading, 10% more rendered pixels, longer battery life, 120Hz vs 100Hz refresh rate
• 6:21 - Summary: new band and spec bump, same form factor, cameras, displays, weight, and $3,500 price
• 6:39 - Two interesting factors: competition from Samsung and the strange lack of other competitors
• 6:45 - Samsung released their mixed-reality headset running Android XR (formerly “Project Moohan”)
• 7:31 - Smart glasses like Meta Ray-Bans are progressing dramatically faster than headsets
• 7:52 - Smart glasses are more appealing to more people than Vision Pro
• 8:03 - Most Vision Pro usage has been watching movies, not its full capabilities
• 8:38 - Apple has seen the sales numbers and usage stats and is scaling back Vision Pro investment
• 9:10 - Reports suggest Apple scrapped plans for a “Vision Pro Air” lightweight version
• 9:18 - Apple is reportedly shifting resources to develop smart glasses
• 9:44 - Two approaches to face computers: trimming down headsets vs building up smart glasses
• 10:05 - Fewer people want to spend significant time in a face-computer than expected

Mentions

Companies

Products

People

Features & Software

Surprising Quotes

“Matter of fact, the weight of the new one is listed as higher than the original because it comes by default with this new Dual Knit Band.”

• 3:02

“It turns out most of the use of Vision Pro has been watching movies… which is a shame because it’s capable of [so much more].”

• 8:05

“There’s even been some other reporting that they’ve scrapped plans for a future lightweight version of the Vision Pro that was going to come up after this, like the ‘Vision Pro Air.’ And they’re shifting those resources to try to develop smart glasses.”

• 9:10

“Turns out there’s way less people who wanna spend significant time in a face-computer, even if it’s really impressive.”

• 10:05

“There’s just nothing quite like having actual reality through some glass with some stuff overlaid on top.”

• 10:18

Full Transcript

0:02 This is the Apple Vision Pro, and this is the brand Apple Vision Pro nearly two years later. Yeah…

0:19 So you might have heard that Apple dropped the latest the base M5 chip this past week, and they chose to put it in three devices: the iPad Pro, the 14-inch MacBook Pro, and the Vision Pro.

0:40 Okay, so this is actually of Apple Silicon. We just got… So anything that has a base chip— this is the direction of time, and this is the direction of how powerful the chips are— anything that has a for getting the M5 upgrade, which is why we see this which went from M2 to M5. We also see it in the 14-inch MacBook Pro and the iPad Pro.

1:11 Notably, there is no Pro or Max M5. So things like the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which uses those chips, stays on M4. We’ll probably see that eventually, kind of like we’ll probably an M4 Ultra, which we don’t have yet, which is why the Mac Pro and Mac Studio are on M3 Ultra and M2 Ultra. I got those backwards. So not respectively.

1:33 Either way, Mac Mini, iMac, other things that have the base M chip will probably all eventually get M5. And that’s about it, I think. Yeah, new chip.

1:49 Okay, anyway, aside from that new chip, the new 2025 Vision Pro as the original from two years ago. Same dimensions, same aluminum frame and glass on the outside, same buttons and Digital same exact high-resolution on the inside with the same field of view, same exact battery with that you put in your pocket while you’re wearing the headset.

2:17 And it has the exact same 12 cameras and sensors and LIDAR scanner all around the outside. And the same R1 chip inside to combine and process all the data from all those sensors, same thermal systems, same outside screen to…

2:33 So yeah, much of this is unchanged. Not that you need change but when the Vision Pro first came out, there were immediately tons of complaints about how heavy it was and how uncomfortable this thing was to wear for long periods of time. And so I would think that maybe there’s some work maybe thinning out a bit just saving a few millimeters and a few grams here and there. But no, none of that has…

3:02 Matter of fact, the weight of the new one is listed as higher than the original because it comes by default with this new Dual Knit Band, which is where it seems went into making the Vision… And so to their credit, it is actually a really nice and cleverly engineered band.

3:21 So you probably remember this Solo Knit Band, which was in all the commercials and looks really pretty, but the problem is it’s pulling up against the back of your head, and it’s trying to hold all of the weight from the Vision Pro, and it’s not great at it. Basically it ends up and really being incredibly painful to have on your face for…

3:41 So there were a bunch of that came out, including Apple’s own that did a better job and distributed the weight better, but they were also pretty ugly. Not that it mattered to most people, but it mattered to Apple. So they spent presumably developing this band, which distributes the weight much better across the back and top of your head.

4:02 And then this dial right here, you twist to tighten the back and then pop out and… And it is significantly more comfortable. The back fabric piece is a bit smaller than it was in the Solo Knit Band ‘cause it doesn’t have to be as big.

4:18 But it also now has in the back to help counterbalance the weight on your face. And you can feel it. Like, the original band… You can feel the metal filling in the fabric ones on the new one, and that’s the reason for… Either way, now it’s both and still good looking. And you can also just buy it for the old Vision Pro for $99.

4:44 So I’ve been using this new M5 Vision Pro for the past couple days to see if I can actually that this new chip makes because yes, every Vision Pro has all the new software the new, more realistic Personas, the Pinnable Widgets, being able to turn regular photos into spatial scenes, all this cool stuff.

5:04 So the M5 chip brings a few other incremental improvements here. Basically, it can load apps faster; it can render more pixels; and it’s more efficient, so it has longer battery life.

5:16 Now, the loading apps especially since you’re and you can’t exactly or burn time to check notifications while things are loading. So you kind of just have to sit there and wait for it to load. So it’s welcome that but it’s not exactly a game changer.

5:33 And then same with things like creating spatial scenes… If that’s something you do a lot, it’s not instant, but it is much faster on this new one.

5:42 The 10% more rendered pixels, you really aren’t gonna notice that, even if you do back-to-back the M2 and M5 versions, like maybe a handful of people on planet Earth ever will. But yeah, it’s, you know, the passthrough cameras so it still looks the same.

5:59 The displays on the inside are still the same displays, so it still looks the same. The slightly faster max refresh rate of 120 hertz versus 100, it’s appreciated. But again, it’s not major. It’s like these aren’t huge changes. These are just a bunch of smaller incremental updates will start to add up on each other. Same thing with the 20%…

6:21 So yeah, a new band and a spec bump, otherwise same form same cameras, same displays, same heavy weight, and same $3,500 price tag.

6:34 “So why is this interesting,” you might be asking? I’m glad you asked. Two reasons: the competition and the strange lack of competition.

6:44 See Samsung. Samsung has just come along and finally years later actually dropped their full mixed-reality headset running Android XR. You might remember my preview video of it a couple months ago, showing all this stuff with lots of equivalent…

7:02 You know, in my video, they’re calling it “Project Moohan,” but now they’re bringing and putting it on sale alongside…

7:11 But outside of that, there is a noticeable trying to make their own Vision Pro and make a super-competitive, super-highly-priced…

7:25 And I think that goes alongside all of this crazy development we’ve seen in the smart-glasses space. Like just last month, I dropped my video on these. These are the Meta Ray-Ban displays, and they’re not the but they are one example of how much dramatically faster the progress has been on these than the headsets.

7:44 Like, this makes it look like the Vision Pro is sitting still. And I think in a lot of ways, these are much more appealing to way more people.

7:51 Vision Pro is, of course, which means that we and Apple didn’t really exactly know how people would use this thing. And it comes out, and a lot of people are willing to spend the $3,500 on it.

8:03 But then two years later, it turns out most of the use of Vision Pro has been watching movies which is a shame because it’s capable of…

8:14 But it turns out people which only do a subset of because they carry a much while wearing them in public. And you know, you still you can listen to music, you can ask questions… And yes, they are still nerdy, but not as nerdy as this.

8:38 So to answer the question in the title, I think Apple has now, you know, seen all of this and they’ve gotten the sales numbers and the usage stats and all that. And I think they’ve this isn’t gonna be and they’ve kind of trimmed it back and dedicated a little bit less to it, not given up obviously.

8:57 And there’s still plenty you know, “Liquid Glass” and the spatial videos… But I think they know now, “Okay, this isn’t some huge smash hit, maybe allocate resources…”

9:10 There’s even been some other reporting that they’ve scrapped plans for a future lightweight version of the Vision Pro that was going to come up after this, like the “Vision Pro Air.” And they’re shifting those resources to try to develop smart glasses to jump on that train.

9:24 And that’s actually perfectly in line with this video I made in October 2023 trying to figure out how we get to this mixed-reality dream.

9:33 So in case you haven’t watched that video, spoiler or TL;DR: Tech companies are trying to achieve this awesome face-computer vision of the future for everyday use from two different directions: by building these incredible headsets and then trimming them down or by building these smart glasses and building them up.

9:56 And it turns out maybe, just maybe, one of those directions now than the other, at least for the everyday computer part.

10:05 Turns out there’s way less people who wanna spend significant time in a face-computer, even if it’s really impressive, even if those pixels represent the world around… There’s just nothing quite like having actual reality through some glass with some stuff overlaid on top.

10:25 But again, only time will tell. We’ll see. Thanks for watching. Catch you guys the next one. Peace.