Apple cuts Vision Pro Mixed Reality headset production plans: Report

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple has reportedly slashed Vision Pro Mixed Reality (MR) headset production plans amid manufacturing challenges in China.

According to a report in The Financial Times, citing sources, Apple has reportedly asked its main Vision Pro assembler Luxshare to make fewer than 400,000 units next year. It is reportedly down from an initial internal sales target of one million.

China-based Luxshare is said to be Apple’s main Vision Pro assembler, apart from several others.

Apple or Luxshare declined to comment on the report.

Earlier, Apple relied on Taiwanese suppliers like Foxconn to help it develop the first generations of new product lines.

Apple tapped Chinese electronics contract manufacturer Luxshare Precision Industry Co as the key assembler, along with six other Mainland China firms, for its $3,499 Vision Pro Mixed Reality (MR) headset.

Apart from Luxshare, other suppliers are Cowell E Holdings and Shenzhen Desay Battery Technology, which provides lithium batteries and power management systems, and audio components maker Goertek, reports South China Morning Post.

Luxshare is a major supplier of AirPods for Apple that has also won iPhone 15 orders.

There were 11 Taiwanese suppliers involved with the Vision Pro, including Largan Precision Co, Genius Electronic Optical Co, GIS-KY and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), according to a report by Taiwanese newspaper Commercial Times.

Apple Vision Pro will be available early next year, beginning with the US.

Vision Pro introduces a fully three-dimensional user interface controlled by a user's eyes, hands, and voice. Featuring visionOS, the world's first spatial operating system, Vision Pro lets users interact with digital content in a way that feels like it is physically present in their space.

Apple Vision Pro also features EyeSight, that helps users stay connected with those around them.