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Apple has reportedly decreased the number of Vision Pro VR units that it was going to ship in 2024, cutting them nearly in half, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. They’re going from 700-800,000 expected to 400-450,000, implying that things really did not work out how they imagined.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo writes that Apple cut orders for the Vision Pro even before it launched outside of the US. His sources claim that Apple now expects to sell only around 400,000 to 450,000 units in 2024, compared to what Kuo says was a “market consensus” of 700,000 to 800,000. Demand for the $3,500 Vision Pro dropped much lower than the company was expecting.
So says analyst and leading Apple soothsayer Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo reckons the original plan was for up to 800,000 units of the headset in 2024. This has now been cut to 400,000 to 450,000. He also notes that Apple has made the call to reduce production before the headset has even gone on sale in markets outside the US.
Facing the unanticipated drop in steam, Apple is now adjusting its headset roadmap, possibly pushing the future of a lower-cost entry mixed reality headset beyond 2025 (if at all). Apple’s Vision Pro has largely wowed early adopters due to its technical prowess — but not enough to hold on to all of them past the return period.
These reports suggest that demand in the US has been much lower than expected, leading to the poor performance of the Vision Pro. What’s more, Kuo says the poor performance of the Vision Pro could mean that a planned update to the headset in 2025 may be cancelled.
The decrease in production volumes and the adjustments to the headset roadmap come as a surprise amidst the high expectations for the Vision Pro. As Apple shifts its focus to recalibrating its forecasts and roadmap, tech enthusiasts eagerly await the company’s next moves in the headset market.
