Vision Pro faces uncertainty nearly two years after its launch, with development team restructuring, layoffs, and indications of weak sales. Apple is testing lighter designs while also studying less expensive wearable devices better suited to everyday use.
Vision Pro’s future within Apple has come under review nearly two years after its launch at a price of approximately $4,000 as a platform for spatial computing. According to information reported by Bloomberg, Vision hardware development is going through a difficult phase involving management changes, a reduction in headcount, and declining internal enthusiasm for the product.
Restructuring Reduces the Priority of the Vision Team
These indications coincided with changes in Apple’s leadership. As John Ternus rose to the position of chief executive officer, Johny Srouji took over as head of the hardware division, bringing chip and hardware development operations under his management. At the same time, the Vision hardware team’s position within the company’s management hierarchy declined.
Paul Meade, the former head of the Vision hardware team, left for OpenAI after his management position was reduced, while his successor, Fletcher Rothkopf, began reporting administratively to Vice President Tom Marib instead of reporting directly to senior management. These changes were accompanied by layoffs in development teams, along with indications of weak headset sales in Apple stores; reports indicate that some stores sell only one unit per month.
Attempting to Reduce Weight Before the Next Generation
This does not mean the project has stopped. Apple is still developing a new device codenamed N224 and testing about four designs to address fundamental problems with Vision Pro, most notably weight and comfort.
One concept involves moving some processing components to an external battery unit, similar to some of Meta’s device designs. However, Apple executives do not favor this approach and insist on assembling the components inside the headset. This design disagreement could delay the launch until 2028 or 2029 at the earliest.
What Is Changing in Practice?
The available information indicates that Apple does not view the current Vision Pro as a mass-market product in its present form, but rather as a transitional stage through which it is testing spatial computing. The high price and heavy weight limit everyday use, so addressing comfort and size appears more urgent than adding new capabilities to a heavy and expensive device.
At the same time, Apple is reallocating some of its resources toward lighter wearable devices, including smart glasses without displays, AirPods equipped with cameras, and screenless health bands. This comes as Meta expands its presence in smart glasses through the Ray-Ban series, putting Apple before the choice of developing smaller devices better suited to everyday use instead of relying on a large mixed-reality headset.
However, the source does not establish whether Apple will actually launch the N224 device, nor does it specify a final date or commercial specifications for it. The sales estimates cited are also not official figures publicly announced by the company, so the significance of these indicators remains tied to information reported about the internal situation and store performance reports.