The Financial Times is reporting this morning that Apple has significantly cut its targets for Apple Vision Pro unit shipments. Down from an expected million units per year, Apple will now only make around 400,000 Vision Pro headsets in 2024.
This is due to manufacturing issues arising from the headset’s complex design. Plans for a more affordable second-generation headset have also been delayed, according to the report.
The design of the Vision Pro headset is complicated and advanced. One of the more challenging bottlenecks in the production process is the inclusion of the EyeSight feature, which projects the user’s eyes on an outward facing display.
The passthrough cameras are embedded below the EyeSight display, and the cameras need careful calibration during the production process to account for variances in the curved cover glass. Yields for the 4K micro-OLED displays, one for each eye, also remain low.
The device is being assembled by Chinese manufacturer Luxshare. Apple works with Luxshare on various other products including AirPods and some MacBook models. Luxshare stock fell on the news of lower Vision Pro device shipments.
A second-generation of Apple’s headset production was previously expected to arrive in 2025, with a high-end and lower-end model. But today’s report suggests the entire product roadmap timeline has been pushed back.
Luxshare was apparently ramping up its production capacity to offer assembly of ~18 million headsets in the coming years.
The first-generation Vision Pro is set to go on sale early next year, according to Apple. It will be available exclusively in the US to start, with sales starting in more countries by the end of 2024.
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