Apple’s Vision Pro headset made a massive splash when it was announced in June 2023, and one of the biggest talking points was its $3,499 price. Despite reports that Apple is charging buyers at or near the cost of making the device, it’s still a massive amount for most people to shell out on a headset.
There could be some future relief though, as Apple is reportedly searching for ways to bring the price down, whether that’s a “Vision Pro 2” headset or a lower-cost version that omits a few of the more expensive features.
According to The Information (via 9to5Mac), Apple is scouting around for new suppliers of the Vision Pro’s Micro-OLED displays, with companies BOE and SeeYA under consideration. If they pass muster, they could help lower the price of Vision Pro components, hopefully meaning a cheaper device for consumers.
Right now, Sony is the only firm that makes the displays inside the Vision Pro. We’ve previously reported how the company can only manufacture fewer than 1 million displays a year right now for Apple. Since each Vision Pro comes with two displays, that’s not a huge number of headsets that Apple can sell each year, with estimates pegging the number at around 400,000 units.
If Apple can find eother display suppliers, they could presumably augment Sony’s efforts and enable Apple to bring down the price of the Vision Pro. After all, if more suppliers are able to produce the required components, Apple will have more room to negotiate pricing.
Display industry expert Ross Young has suggested the cost to manufacture the Vision Pro’s displays is more than 10% of the $3,499 asking price, while Omdia analyst David Hsieh has said that figure could be as high as 35%, or $1,542. If Apple is able to lower that cost, it could have a sizeable impact on the final price.
Interestingly, the report from The Information suggests at least some of Apple’s testing is directed not just at a second-generation Vision Pro, but at a cheaper model that will cut down on some features. The article notes that this more affordable version is “internally code-named N109.”
Right now, we don’t know too much about the Vision Pro 2 or the lower-priced model, which would presumably drop the “Pro” moniker from its name. If Apple is able to charge a lower price for these products, though, it could help get many more of the headsets into the hands of consumers. And there’s no way Apple will want to miss out on that.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.