Apple analyst discusses state of Apple Vision VR headset plans with smart glasses and AirPods with cameras also rumoured

While the virtual reality (VR) headset market has not reached mainstream status, Meta continues to reduce the barriers to entry with increasingly aggressive pricing. To that end, it has just released the Quest 3S (curr. $299 on Amazon), which it will start shipping tomorrow.

Moreover, Quest has now moved away from the Quest Pro, which was substantially cheaper than the Apple Vision Pro that still retails for $3,499. According to a new report from Mark Gurman, Apple remains focused on offering new VR headsets, starting with a more affordable alternative that may well run on an Apple A series-derived chipset.

On top of that, Apple hopes that removing the hardware required for EyeSight in the Vision Pro will allow it to hit over a 40% price reduction between models. Such a drop would still see the next Apple Vision headset launching for roughly $2,000, though. In other words, Apple's 'cheaper' VR headset may still cost over 6x as much as Meta's cheaper option.

Furthermore, Gurman expects Apple to release the Vision Pro 2 in 2026 with a performance bump before introducing its first pair of smart glasses a year later. Supposedly, Apple is still considering launching new AirPods with integrated cameras too, which Gurman describes as an attempt to 'salvage the billions of dollars spent on the Vision Pro's visual intelligence technology'. Ultimately, 2027 is far away enough for these plans to change and products to be shelved in favour of others.