If you were still hopeful of a cheaper version of Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset, these latest reports claiming work on the headset’s display has been suspended will be unwelcome.
According to The Elec’s sources, production partner Samsung is winding down work on the specialist display panels that would sit out in front of a more affordable, second-generation Vision Pro previously expected to land a couple of years from now.
The report says the “G-VR” display is described as a micro-OLED glass substrate that would have cost less than the silicon-based OLEDoS panel Apple used in the original Vision Pro.
While the original panel offered a pixel density of 3,386 pixels per inch, this panel would reportedly offer about half the concentration at up to 1,700ppi.
Korean publication The Elec (via MacRumors) quotes an industry official as saying: “As Apple turns to AI smart glass instead of XR headsets, the power to develop glass substrate-based VR displays has been lost.”
Indeed the pivot appears to be happening because Apple is reportedly moving away from a headset form factor in favour of AI-powered smart glasses. The company has long seen a pair of streamlined glasses with a heads-up holographic display as a potential successor to the iPhone.
It may start with a rival to Meta’s Ray-Bans initially, before pivoting to pivoting to what many observers believe to be the next major form factor.
As recently as this May, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman’s sources informed the erstwhile reporter that the Vision Pro sequel had been cancelled. This report seems to underscore that sense.
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