RIP Vision Pro? It looks like Apple is ditching its mixed reality headset ambitions to focus on smart glasses.
Last year, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed a roadmap for Apple's Vision lineup that predicted the company was working on at least seven different wearables, including new smart glasses and versions of the Vision Pro. However, today, Kuo returned with an updated roadmap that majorly scales back Apple's ambitions, and apparently this slimming down was at the behest of incoming Apple CEO John Ternus.
In his latest missive, Kuo claims that Apple is only focusing on two smart glasses products now. The glasses include AI glasses like the Ray-Ban Meta and display-equipped AR glasses.
What is Apple working on?
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman dropped a major report recently that claimed Apple is seeking to disrupt the smart glasses industry.
This would be done by relying on Apple's strengths, including the brand, design, and iPhone integration. Essentially, Apple wants to its smart glasses to break into the mainstream the same way it did with Apple Watches in 2015.
1. The Apple XR headset and smart glasses roadmap I put together about a year ago is no longer a useful reference. For now, only two smart glasses products remain visible in the roadmap.2. The major overhaul was signed off by Apple's next CEO, John Ternus. This shift actually… https://t.co/nuqahpVnVQJune 3, 2026
The more fashionable display-less AI glasses are supposed to launch in 2027.
Kuo also claims Apple is working on a pair AR/XR glasses that would feature a display. This would be similar to the Xreal Android XR spectacles that we just tried at Google I/O in May.
We haven't seen much in the way of rumors or leaks regarding Apple's take on XR glasses. A report from February suggested Apple's version might launch in 2028 with 0.6-inch dual OLEDoS lenses. According to Kuo, they've slipped to 2029.
Deathknell of the Vision Pro?
The previous roadmap listed seven devices, including the M5 Vision Pro, which launched last year. It also included the rumored Vision Air, a lighter and cheaper version of the Vision Pro, and the second-generation Vision Pro.
Kuo's roadmap change seems to confirm previous rumors that Apple has stopped work on the Vision Pro series. However, that does seem to contradict a rumor that popped last week.
Gurman claimed that Apple is developing a slimmer and lighter Vision Pro successor. He did claim that this new headset wouldn't launch until 2028 or 2029.
“Apple needs to fix the design and pricing problems that turned the first Vision Pro into a flop, and that category will essentially be on ice until then.”
