Apple’s dream of having its own mixed reality glasses, or space computer as they prefer to call them, is not being a bed of roses. The Cupertino company has invested billions of dollars and has dedicated more than seven years to develop the Apple Vision Pro. And now that it has finally taken the step of announcing them, it may be forced to make fewer units than stipulated.
The reasons that are pushing changes in plans in the technology company led by Tim Cook, which recently became the first company to reach a valuation of three trillion dollars, are varied. But they make one thing clear, at least according to Financial Times data suggests: the production targets set initially will not be met. What situation is Apple in? Let’s see.
From a million units to less than half
As we know, Apple is a firm that is extremely jealous of its information and, for this reason, it does everything possible to avoid leaks or give more data. However, several analysts and industry experts say that the company planned to sell one million glasses in the first year. A contained figure that contrasts with the bulky sales of successful products such as the iPhone and even the Mac.
Now, according to the aforementioned American newspaper, direct sources from Apple and Luxshare, the Chinese company that will assemble the Vision Pro, assure that those from Cupertino have adjusted their forecasts, so they will manufacture less than 400,000 units in 2024. Maybe never before You may have heard of Luxshare and were surprised not to see the Foxconn name. Well, they are not related to each other.
Founded in 2004 by former members of Foxconn, Luxshare has been earning Apple’s trust in manufacturing its products. The Chinese company now has the enormous challenge of being solely responsible for the Vision Pro final assemblyAlthough for this task you will depend on many other actors in the supply chain who, if not perfectly synchronized, can hinder your plans.
This is where other vendors come in, claiming that Apple has only ordered components to make between 130,000 and 150,000 Vision Pro units in the first year. One of the key players would be Sony, which according to people connected to the project has supplied the micro-OLED screens, the most expensive piece of the device that aims to offer higher than 4K resolution to each eye.
Apple, they point out in the Financial Times, is not happy with the performance of the suppliers, especially with those related to the Vision Pro screens. With this new situation on the tablethose led by Tim Cook have been forced to accept that they will have to make fewer devices, a decision that also seems to affect Luxshare, which was preparing to assemble some 18 million units in the coming years.
Images: Manzana
In Xataka: Apple Mac Studio (2023) review: The M2 Max processor roars in this beast of efficiency
