Apple today introduced Apple Vision Pro with the powerful M5 chip that delivers a leap forward in performance, improved display rendering, faster AI-powered workflows, and extended battery life. The upgraded Vision Pro also comes with the soft, cushioned Dual Knit Band to help users achieve an even more comfortable fit, and visionOS 26, which unlocks innovative spatial experiences, including widgets, new Personas, an interactive Jupiter Environment, and new Apple Intelligence features with support for additional languages.1 There are over 1 million apps and thousands of games on the App Store, hundreds of 3D movies on the Apple TV app, and all-new series and films in Apple Immersive with a selection of live NBA games coming soon. Vision Pro with M5 and the Dual Knit Band is now available to pre-order on apple.com. Customers can book a demo at Apple Store locations today and it will be available nationwide beginning Wednesday, October 22.
“With the breakthrough performance of M5, the latest Apple Vision Pro delivers faster performance, sharper details throughout the system, and even more battery life, setting a new standard for what’s possible in spatial computing,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Paired with the comfortable Dual Knit Band, innovative features in visionOS 26, and all-new Apple Immersive experiences spanning adventure, documentary, music, and sports, spatial computing is even more capable, entertaining, and magical with the new Vision Pro.”
Apple Vision Pro with the M5 chip and Dual Knit Band starts at $3,499 (U.S.), and is available in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage capacities.
Engineering a new headset that would be cheaper and lighter was in the works but would have taken at least another year. They paused that to work on glasses, and rumors say they’re hoping to pivot to putting VisionOS on the smart glasses form factor instead of goggles.
It makes SOME sense, but I’m surprised they didn’t do a slash and burn job to strip out the useless face screen and maybe move some weight around before launching this.
Maybe it’s just not clear whether people will go for augmented reality (glasses) or virtual reality (useless face screen). I know I’m not convinced I know which, if either, will take off.
And I need fairly strong glasses so I miss out on the first generations of either
I think they’ve been hedging their bets but it’s looking like smart glasses are likely to win out. This means they’re behind, but honestly that’s always been Apple’s way: let someone else make the janky early adopter first versions, then come in with a well-executed design with populist appeal. It looks like they’re floundering, but I don’t think they’re in an uncomfortable position.
I just want the VR/AR goggle form factor to gain traction again because I love VR gaming and immersive experiences.