Apple Vision Pro will replace the Mac long before the iPhone

The Apple Vision Pro isn't meant to be mobile yet. But it's great for home offices.

- KAREN HASLAM

While the $3,499 Vision Pro won't be available for sale W until next year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported that Apple is already working on a cheaper version (fave.co/3CJak8p). The news isn't exactly surprising-Gurman himself previously reported on Apple's plans to initially introduce the pricey mixed reality headset (fave.co/40wN1ca) meant for developers, with a device meant for the masses released sometime later.

Gurman covers some of the ways Apple could cut costs-lower-quality screens, an older chip, and fewer cameras among them-though much of the core Vision Pro features, including the EyeSight eye tracking, will likely remain. The projected release date for this other headset is late 2025, only two and a half years from now. Gurman doesn't mention a smaller design, but it's hard to imagine that Apple could develop the tech in that amount of time to make a headset that's essentially a mobile device.

That's the eventual goal, we've been told that Apple's headset will eventually replace the iPhone. But depending on the speed of its design evolution, the Apple Vision Pro and the Apple Vision (aka the cheaper headset, following the naming scheme of the iPhone Pro and iPhone) could end up replacing the Mac a lot sooner.

IT'S NOT REALLY MOBILE