Report: Vision Pro Headset's Complex Design Forcing Apple to Make 'Drastic' Production Cuts

Apple has been forced to make "drastic cuts" to production forecasts for its Vision Pro mixed reality headset due to the complexity of its design and difficulties in production, reported the Financial Times on Monday.


Apple's $3,500 headset is set to go on sale early next year, but analysts have suggested the lengthy gap between its unveiling at WWDC in June and official launch could be more to do with supply chain problems than a way to give developers time to create apps for the device.

According to the paywalled report, Apple is said to have been unhappy with the productivity of manufacturing partners tasked with supplying the two micro-OLED displays for the wearer's eyes and the outward-facing curved lenticular lens. The micro-OLED displays were reportedly supplied by Sony and TSMC for the prototypes, but it is not known who is supplying them at scale.

As a result of production challenges, Apple is preparing to make fewer than 400,000 units in 2024, according to the report, citing sources close to Apple and Luxshare, the Chinese contract manufacturer that will initially assemble the device. Meanwhile, two China-based sole suppliers of certain components for the Vision Pro reportedly said Apple was only asking them for enough for 130,000 to 150,000 units in the first year.

"Both projections imply a significant cut to production from an earlier, internal sales target of 1mn units in the first 12 months," wrote the FT. "The forecasts for low volumes reflect Apple's lack of confidence in being able to scale production, according to analysts and industry experts, following years of missed deadlines in launching the device," the report added.

Meanwhile, Apple is said to have pushed back plans to launch a more affordable version of the headset that it hopes will appeal to the mass market. Apple is reportedly working with Korean display makers Samsung and LG on the second-generation headset, and has explored using mini-LED for the displays to drive the price lower. However, FT's sources claimed Apple was insisting on using micro-OLED even for the non-Pro headset, despite suppliers failing to match expectations.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that Apple plans to launch a more affordable version of its Vision Pro headset by the end of 2025, likely to be called "Apple Vision One," or more simply, "Apple Vision."
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Report: Apple CEO Tim Cook Ordered Headset Launch Despite Designers Warning It Wasn't Ready

Apple CEO Tim Cook sided with operations chief Jeff Williams in pushing to launch a first-generation mixed-reality headset device this year, against the wishes of the company's design team, the Financial Times reports.


The timing of the mixed-reality headset's launch has apparently been a cause of considerable contention at Apple. The company's industrial design team cautioned that devices in the category were not yet ready for launch and wanted to delay until a lightweight AR glasses product had matured several years later. On the other hand, Apple's operations team wanted to ship an early version of the product in the form of a VR-focused ski goggle-like headset that allows users to watch 3D videos, perform interactive workouts, or make FaceTime calls with virtual avatars.

‌Tim Cook‌, who served as Apple's operations chief prior to becoming CEO, reportedly sided with Jeff Williams, overruling objections from Apple's designers and pressing for an early launch with a more limited product. Speaking to the Financial Times, former Apple engineers who worked on the device described the "huge pressure to ship."

Upon the departure of design chief Jony Ive in 2019, Apple's design team now reports directly to Williams. While design led the direction of Apple's products under Steve Jobs, employees have noticed that operations is increasingly taking control over product development under Cook's leadership. One former engineer said that the best part of working at Apple was devising engineering solutions to meet the "insane requirements" of the design team, but that has apparently changed in recent years.

Apple's headset has reportedly been in active development for seven years, twice as long as the original iPhone prior to its launch. The device is seen as being tied directly to ‌Tim Cook‌'s legacy, as Apple's first new computing platform developed entirely under his leadership.

The company is still expecting to sell only around a million units of the headset during its first year on sale at a ~$3,000 price point. Nevertheless, Apple is purportedly preparing a "marketing blitz" for the product later this year.
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Apple's Popularity With Gen Z Poses Challenges for Android

Younger Americans prefer Apple over rival companies by significant margins, driving a generational shift toward Apple devices and social pressure, the Financial Times reports.


According to the report, younger consumers are concerned about being socially ostracised for not having an iPhone – a phenomenon that is driving young people to buy other Apple products and services, leading to growing market share across multiple product categories.

Those born after 1996, also known as Gen Z, compose 34 percent of all ‌iPhone‌ owners in the U.S., compared to just 10 percent for Samsung. For older generations, there is a relatively even split between ‌iPhone‌ and Android users. The ramifications of this shift toward Apple devices among younger people extends beyond iPhones, with these users being much more likely to purchase AirPods, Apple Watches, and Macs.

For every 100 iPhones Apple sells around the world, it also sells 26 iPads, 17 Apple Watches, and 35 pairs of AirPods, according to research by Canalys. For Samsung, every 100 smartphone sales leads to fewer than 11 tablets, six smartwatches, and six pairs of wireless earbuds being sold. This is in spite of the fact that the average selling price of an ‌iPhone‌ is almost three times that of an Android device.

Researchers who advise companies about the preferences of Gen Z consumers told the Financial Times that these customers are the most online of any age group, spending up to six hours a day on their smartphones. As a result, Apple's ecosystem is shaping social decision-making, with particular emphasis on the importance of iMessage as a social signal, necessitated by inferior experiences messaging and using group chats via SMS.

In Europe, where iMessage is less prevalent and Android has a bigger market share, the same trend is similarly visible. Canalys research indicates that 83 percent of Apple users in western Europe under 25 years old plan to keep using an ‌iPhone‌. As Gen Z gets older, this trend is likely to grow and further entrench Apple's market share, making it increasingly difficult for rival companies to capture new customers and make inroads.
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