- A Ming-Chi Kuo report suggests that Apple's Vision Pro shipment volumes have taken a hit.
- Market consensus previously forecasted a 700-800k units of Vision Pro shipment volume, which is now down to 400-450k.
- Kuo also states that, against expectations, there may not be a 2025 version of the Vision Pro.
During the first pre-order itself, Apple sold about 160,000 to 180,000 units of the revolutionary Vision Pro. That understandably led the 2024 market consensus to predict the selling of 700-800k units of the MR (Mixed Reality) headset. However, a new Medium report by Ming-Chi Kuo (Analyst at TF International Securities), suggests that this forecast is not looking too good, with the numbers allegedly being down to just 400–450k units.
“Demand (of the Vision Pro) in the US market has fallen sharply beyond expectations.” – Ming-Chi Kuo
Earlier, Kuo had predicted that it wouldn’t be challenging for Apple to hit the 500,000 shipments mark with its Vision Pro this year. But, given that Kuo suggests a sharp decline in the US market’s Vision Pro demand, he believes that this may make, “Apple take a conservative view of demand in non-US markets.”
Right now, the MR headset is only limited to the US. However, according to several reports, Apple is working on extending the Vision Pro to multiple non-US markets ahead of the WWDC 2024 event. So, right before reportedly making the Vision Pro available to other markets, Apple is cutting down on shipments. But, why?
Kuo states a couple of factors that may be affecting that. For starters, the biggest challenge for the Vision Pro is to bring key applications to the table. While it has a few tricks up its sleeve, the price alongside its weighty form factor doesn’t help its case much. On top of that, Kuo also states:
“Apple is reviewing and adjusting its head-mounted display (HMD) product roadmap, so there may be no new Vision Pro model in 2025” – Ming-Chi Kuo
In addition, talks of there being a more affordable version of the Vision Pro has also been making rounds of the rumor mill. If that’s true, and the reported $2,000 price cut on is not just smoke and mirrors, there’s still some hope in that case.
So, Is the Vision Pro Buzz Starting to Fade?
See, I have been spending quite some time with the Vision Pro, crafting guides like this for it. There’s no doubt that I was absolutely thrilled to use the headset initially. However, that excitement lasted for about a week at the most. Post that, I have been deliberately trying to find things to do with it. That should explain the current status of the Vision Pro.
Yes, those immersive videos and interactive apps will give you goosebumps and maybe even make you scream. But, not for long. With each passing day, I use the Vision Pro a little less, and that’s alarming. Soon, I’ll end up only taking it out when I need it to bring an idea to life. So, there’s that.
But, as for Kuo’s predictions, he has had an excellent track record so far. But, you can never say what Apple has up its sleeves, and Kuo may be entirely wrong. Only time will tell.
What about you? If the Vision Pro releases in your region, will you be willing to pay the hefty price for all that it has to offer?
