Apple has abruptly reduced production of the Vision Pro headset and could stop making the current version of the device completely by the end of 2024, The Information reports.
Citing multiple people "directly involved" in making components for the headset, the report says that the scaling back of production began in the early summer. This indicates that Apple now has a sufficient number of Vision Pro units in its inventory to meet demand for the device's remaining lifespan through to next year.
The Vision Pro is widely reported to have seen weak demand due to insufficient content and its high price point. The Information says that Vision Pro suppliers have now produced enough components for between 500,000 to 600,000 headsets. Some factories suspended production of Vision Pro components as early as May based on Apple's weak sales forecasts, and warehouses remain filled with tens of thousands of undelivered parts.
Apple is said to have recently told Luxshare, a Chinese company that serves as the Vision Pro's assembler, that it may need to wind down production in November. Luxshare is currently making around 1,000 Vision Pro headsets per day, which is half that being produced at its peak. Apple will still be able to resume Vision Pro production if sales pick up since the production lines are not yet due to be dismantled.
Moreover, Apple has apparently suspended work on the second-generation Vision Pro for at least a year to focus on developing a lower-cost headset. Interestingly, Apple has told suppliers to prepare to build four million low-cost headsets over the entire lifespan of the future product. This is half the total number of Vision Pros that Apple told suppliers to produce, suggesting that sales expectations are even lower for the cheaper headset.
Although Apple's work on the second-generation Vision Pro has apparently stalled, there are some indications that the company could release "an incremental update to the product with limited changes to its physical design," such as a chip upgrade. This would allow Apple to use up the considerable number of excess components in its supply chain.
