Report: Cheaper ‘Apple Vision’ headset could require a tethered iPhone or Mac

Earlier this week, a report suggested that Apple has shifted its focus from developing a next-generation Vision Pro to a lower-cost version of the headset instead. A new report today sheds more light on the Apple Vision product roadmap, with some details on how Apple could cut costs in the future.

In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that prototypes of Apple’s lower-cost Vision headset, codenamed N107, have a narrower field of view compared to Vision Pro. Apple is also considering making this Apple Vision headset more reliant on a tethered iPhone or Mac.

This would be a major difference compared to Vision Pro, which can exist solely on its own without a nearby iPhone or Mac. All of Vision Pro’s processing power and components are inside of the headset itself.

Prototypes of the N107 also have a narrower field of view than the Vision Pro. And the company is considering making the device reliant on a tethered Mac or iPhone. That would let Apple save money on the processing power and components needed to make the Vision Pro a fully standalone product.

Gurman also reiterates that Apple hopes to launch the cheaper Vision headset “as early as the end of 2025.” This has been the plan “since before the Vision Pro was first unveiled last year,” he adds. Still, Apple is “struggling to get the cost down while retaining critical features.”

The report also notes that Apple has “no plans to abandon the high end of the headset market” and is still working on a second-generation version of Vision Pro. “

It’s less of a priority, but Apple also is still working on a second-generation version of the Vision Pro. That model is called the N109 internally. It looks much like the current model but includes a faster processor and improvements to external cameras. Apple has also looked at ways to make the second version lighter and more comfortable.

The company has no plans to abandon the high end of the headset market, but this second-generation Vision Pro will take longer to arrive. Months ago, the company shifted a planned 2025 release to the end of 2026 at the earliest, as I reported in April.

How much would you be willing to pay for a more affordable (and less capable) Apple Vision headset? Would it be a dealbreaker for you if the headset relied on being tethered to an iPhone or Mac? Let us know down in the comments.