Apple is working on a “completely redesigned” Vision Pro headset that could go in one of four directions and likely won’t arrive until late 2028 or early 2029, according to BloombergIt’s Mark Gurman.
Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said Apple’s Vision team was exploring four concepts for the device, codenamed N224, including designs that offload internal components in a similar way to Meta’s latest VR glasses, which are expected to launch next spring.
An external computer module on the Meta device houses the battery and main processor and can be attached to the user’s waist. Gurman, who previewed the Meta headset, says the module is about the same size and weight as the Vision Pro’s current battery, but with a grippy exterior.
Gurman reports that regardless of the Vision team’s work, Apple’s top decision-makers still view the external puck concept as a “bad user experience” and want the company to stick with “something closer to an all-in-one design.”
If this all sounds familiar, that’s because Gurman reported in June that Apple was still working on a cheaper, lighter successor to its Vision Pro headset. (The device in development is separate from the long-rumored “Vision Air,” which was canceled last year.)
Apple knows it needs to find ways to simplify the design and make something cheaper and lighter, but Gurman was told the work is about “life support” as the company focuses more on smart glasses, which it aims to launch in late 2027.
Although Vision Pro’s top executives are “putting pressure on their bosses to keep the category alive, funded and growing at Apple,” Gurman says there’s still no guarantee a new headset will ever launch.
