Apple freezes the development of its virtual reality glasses after sales failure

The last update of Vision Pro launched in October 2025, included an upgrade to the M5 processor, a refresh rate of 120 Hz, an improvement of about 10% in the amount of displayed pixels and an addition of about half an hour to the battery life. In addition, an improved head strap was also added, designed to better distribute the weight of the device. But despite the improvements, the price tag remains very high, around $3,499, and demand has not increased.

One of the main problems of the device remains the weight, almost half a kilogram, a figure that makes prolonged use difficult. Even after the improvements in comfort, many users reported difficulty putting the device together for a long time. This criticism, along with the high price, contributed to the fact that the product failed to break into the general market.

According to estimates, Apple has so far sold only about 600,000 units of Vision Pro since its launch, a figure that is considered relatively low for the company’s flagship product. Meanwhile, an extremely high rate of returns was reported, also unusual in relation to other Apple products in recent years.

In recent years there have been rumors about a lighter and cheaper version called Vision Air which was supposed to expand the target audience. But according to reports, this project was also stopped last year. Currently, Apple has no plans to launch a new Vision Pro model even though the product is still sold in the market.

Instead, Apple is focusing its efforts on developing simpler smart glasses, similar to the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, these are devices that will incorporate artificial intelligence capabilities, but without an advanced display in front of the eye. The decision stems, among other things, from technological limitations, since the technology developed for Vision Pro consumes too much energy and is not suitable for light and small devices.