Apple has stopped the development of the professional vision headphones due to weak sales and a high return rate, according to sources cited by MacRumors. The decision comes after last year’s M5 processor update, which failed to significantly increase sales. Since its launch in 2024 at a price of $3,499Apple reportedly sold only a few hundred thousand units in total, with less than 100,000 units shipped each month during that year.
Production was already reduced before the initial launch and Apple stopped manufacturing the original version at the end of 2024. The device was later updated with M5 silicon, which offered higher refresh rates and a slight increase in pixel density. However, this update did not reverse the decline in sales.
Why Apple Vision Pro failed to gain traction
The most common complaints about the device concern physical discomfort. The headset weighs about 1.4 poundsand users have reported eye strain and discomfort after one to two hours of use. Other criticisms include a lack of physical controls, a virtual keyboard that is too imprecise for productivity tasks, and the social awkwardness of using the device in public.
The Vision Pro’s return rate was reportedly higher than any other Apple product in the company’s history.
Weak selection of applications also contributed to low retention. The Vision Pro offered immersive versions of iOS apps, 3D video clips, streaming content and a limited range of games, but no use case stood out as a compelling reason to buy the device at its price.
What’s next for Apple after Vision Pro?
Apple AR developers have reportedly shifted their focus to other projects. A Vision Air device, which was expected to be lighter and priced about 50% lower by 2027, appears to have been removed from the roadmap.
Instead, Apple is now exploring AR glassespossibly in response to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses line up. Samsung launched the Galaxy XR headphones at the end of last year in $1,800positioning it as a lower cost alternative that runs Android.
Apple has not commented publicly on the future of the Vision Pro.
