Apple’s Vision Pro augmented reality headsets—which are set to launch early next year—are facing manufacturing complications that have forced the company to severely slash production forecasts for the $3,500 product, according to a Financial Times report, dealing a blow to the rollout plans for the tech giant’s most ambitious product in years.
Apple's new Vision Pro virtual reality headset is displayed during Apple's Worldwide Developers ... [+]
The “complexity” of the Vision Pro’s design and “difficulties in production” has prompted Apple to drop its 2024 production target for the device to less than 400,000 units, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources close to the iPhone-maker and Luxshare, the Chinese manufacturer tasked with assembling the headset.
Two other Chinese suppliers cited in the report say Apple has only placed orders for enough components to produce between 130,000 to 150,000 units of the Vision Pro in 2024, two other Chinese.
A key issue with the production of the device reportedly stems from the complexity of its design, especially its use of high-resolution micro-OLED displays for each eye—whose production has been marred by low yields.
The disruptions have also caused Apple to delay plans for a cheaper version of the $3,500 augmented reality headset, the report added.
Following its announcement last month, analysts offered varied projections on how many Vision Pro headsets Apple plans on selling in 2024. Analysts from investment firm Wedbush estimated that Apple will ship around 150,000 units of the headset in 2024, followed by a million the next year. Bank of America analysts were more bullish and expected Apple to move 1.5 million units of the Vision Pro in its first full year on the market. Apple’s internal estimates had initially pegged sales estimates at 1 million for the first year. In comparison, Apple’s first iPhone sold 1.7 million units in 2007 after launching in late June of that year. The first iPhone was priced at $499 at launch but tied users to a two-year contract with AT&T.