October 8, 2024
Vision Pro 2 with AI and M5 is exactly the right move for Apple

Vision Pro 2 with AI and M5 is exactly the right move for Apple

The Vision Pro 2 is reportedly coming late next year, has an M5 chip and is built for AI ‘from the ground up’ (as Apple might say). This is why this news makes me so excited, and why I think this is exactly the right move for Apple.

Why Vision Pro shipped when that happened

visionOS 2 Mac virtual display

We’ve known for a while that Apple’s ambitions for its Vision products are long-term.

AR and VR are still in the very early stages of adoption. But the dilemma many tech companies face is: how do you build the technology and platform without leaving devices in the wild?

That’s why Apple released the Vision Pro earlier this year. It hasn’t set the world on fire or contributed meaningfully to the bottom line. It’s probably too expensive and too heavy. And it will still live or die on Apple’s “spatial computing” positioning.

But it’s real. It is in the hands of the users. Developers build apps for it. Technologies such as visionOS, Immersive Video and Spatial Photos are growing and expanding. The Vision Pro is slowly making a spatial computing future more possible than before.

The goal: to reach the masses

Vision Pro demo at the Apple Store

Ultimately, Apple wants its Vision products to be a great success. The next big thing. It wants spatial computing to be something everyone does.

However, to get there we need (at least) a Vision product that:

  • not that heavy
  • more versatile
  • less expensive

That’s why reports that Apple’s priority isn’t Vision Pro 2, but rather a cheaper Vision device, make a lot of sense.

But while Apple works hard on the “don’t call me Pro” version of its Vision line, it needs to keep Vision Pro on the cutting edge.

That’s where today’s report comes in.

Vision Pro 2 gets the upgrades it needs, and no more

Vision Pro

Back in June, I argued that while Apple is busy focusing on a cheaper Vision device, it should at least put an M4 in the current Vision Pro and call it a day.

It sounds like that’s more or less exactly what’s going to happen. Only it’s an M5.

The Vision Pro 2 will reportedly include an M5 chip and have a heavy focus on Apple Intelligence.

And I say: great!

Apple Intelligence is clearly a big priority for Apple. So its current absence in visionOS is disappointing for an otherwise advanced $3,500 product.

But if Apple can chip in a new Vision Pro with an M5 chip in 2025 and add a bunch of Apple Intelligence features to visionOS 3, it will have done exactly what it needs to keep the excitement going on the platform.

All the while, priorities can remain focused on the cheaper Vision product. Because ultimately, it’s that other Vision device that has a greater chance of wider success. But in the meantime, Vision Pro should remain attractive to early adopters and the curious. These rumored changes should help do just that.

What is your reaction to the Vision Pro 2 news? Let us know in the comments.

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