Apple originally released the overly ambitious Vision Pro spatial computer in the U.S. in February 2024. Powered by the M2 chip, the Vision Pro is a mix of virtual and augmented reality that allows users to create virtual workspace anywhere. The Vision Pro can also create floating resizable screens for opening iPad apps, let you view streaming movies on large virtual displays, create a giant virtual screen to view your Mac's display, and use a 3D digital representation of yourself called a persona to conduct a FaceTime video chat.
Luxshare stopped producing Vision Pro headsets at the start of the year
Despite the new headset update released late last year that contains an M5 chip, the Vision Pro continues to sell poorly according to the Financial Times. IDC says that Apple reportedly shipped 390,000 Vision Pro units in 2024 and delivered only 45,000 Vision Pros during the fourth quarter of 2025. As a comparison, tens of millions of iPhones are shipped each quarter with an estimated 56-60 million units delivered during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025. It should be noted that Apple no longer reports the number of iPhone units shipped but does report how much revenue the iPhone generated each quarter.
Playing a VR game with the Vision Pro. Image credit-PhoneArena
Luxshare, the company that manufacturers the Vision Pro headset for Apple, has supposedly stopped producing the device at the start of last year. Apple has also stopped promoting the Vision Pro as Sensor Tower says that in key markets including the U.S. and U.K., Apple has reduced digital advertising for the product by a whopping 95% during the last year. Apple finds itself in a situation where developers don't see any payoff for creating new Vison Pro apps.
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Which Apple smart glasses would you be interested in?
The pair without displays.
10%
The AR glasses with displays.
10%
Both.
20%
Neither.
60%
Once again comparing the Vision Pro to the iPhone, Apple says that the Vision Pro has 3,000 apps that were created specifically for the spatial computer. That number is well behind the number of apps that were developed for the iPhone and listed in the App Store the first year after the iPhone's app storefront opened for business in 2008. No matter how you slice it, the Vision Pro has been a disappointment for Apple.
The specs most are waiting for are the AR specs that could be quite a few years away
Counterpoint said that VR headset shipments declined by 14% for the first half of 2025 on a year-over-year basis. While Meta's Quest headsets took 80% of the market during that six-month period, Meta has started moving its marketing and R&D budgets toward the Meta Ray-Ban AI glasses.
Apple is moving some of the brain power that created the Vision Pro toward the development of its smart glasses. Late this year or early next year, Apple might release a pair of smart glasses that will compete with the Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Using built-in cameras, these specs will see what the user sees allowing the glasses to use Siri to translate signs, play music and take phone calls via built-in speakers. The glasses will also take photos and videos and rely on Siri for navigation. Because these glasses won't have a display (users will turn to their iPhone screens instead), these specs will be lightweight and have all-day battery life.
Apple could turn to the Steve Jobs playbook when it eventually unveils AR glasses
Possibly as soon as 2028, the product that Apple CEO Tim Cook is said to be obsessed with could be ready to be released. We are talking about Augmented Reality (AR) glasses. These glasses define AR by showing digitally created objects that are overlaid on top of real-world images. This product features real displays and would be equipped with a powerful M-series chip. This could be Apple's next big thing possibly replacing the iPhone.
This is the killer device that I'm really looking forward to, but I must temper my expectations. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said nearly a year ago that Apple's AR glasses are probably, at the least, three years away. Gurman said at the time that Apple might return to the Steve Jobs playbook by waiting for others to introduce AR glasses before stunning the world with the Apple version of such a device featuring an improved design and better software-hardware integration.
Apple tried this back in 2007 when it blew up a nascent smartphone market by introducing the touchscreen iPhone, a product that changed the world. Tim Cook could be sitting back in his chair in Cupertino waiting for his opportunity to do the same thing to the AR glasses market. But again, this could be a few years away.
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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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