Apple's Next-Gen Vision Pro Will House An M5 Processor

Anyone who was expecting Apple's Vision Pro to set the tech world ablaze probably didn't notice the device's price tag. Priced at $3,499, the Vision Pro is clearly outside the reach of most people, which is why initial sales were nowhere near what some of the more optimistic analysts were anticipating. Admittedly, it's not fair to compare the Vision Pro to the iPhone and the iPod. However, Apple's success has put it into an unfair corner where the sales figures of every device it releases are measured against some of the most successful consumer devices of all time.

Tim Cook touched on this point himself during a Wall Street Journal interview last year. "At $3,500, it's not a mass-market product," Cook said. "Right now, it's an early-adopter product. People who want to have tomorrow's technology today — that's who it's for. Fortunately, there are enough people who are in that camp that it's exciting."

Outside of early adopters, many have been waiting for a cheaper version of the Apple Vision Pro — and if that's not happening yet, then any leaks about upcoming products will do. To that end, a new report from MacRumors relays that the second-gen version of Apple's headset will ship with an M5 processor. What does that mean for the future of the device?

All told, Vision Pro rumors are relatively hard to come by, but the new report from MacRumors tells us that the yet-unreleased M5 chip is in the cards for the next-gen VR headset. The source for the rumor comes from someone who spotted the interesting tidbit in lines of code shared by Apple itself. 

We're still firmly in the rumor territory here, but if this turns out to be true, then it's clear that Apple wants to ensure that the device maintains a premium feel with premium specs. It's worth noting that the MacRumors report aligns with a previous report from Bloomberg.

There are also reports that Apple is working hard to make its next-gen Vision Pro a tad lighter and more comfortable. Even ardent Vision Pro fans will often concede that the headset can start to get heavy after 45 minutes of use.

Apple isn't content with the status quo. Its ultimate goal is to transform the Vision Pro into a wildly popular device that isn't solely reserved for the incredibly wealthy. To that end, rumors of Apple working on a cheaper version of the Vision Pro began circulating almost immediately after the device launched in February of 2024. There have even been reports that Apple temporarily shelved work on a next-gen Vision Pro so that it could allocate engineering resources towards efforts to make the device cheaper.

As it stands now, Apple may announce a next-gen Vision Pro later this year, followed by a more affordable model in 2027. It remains to be seen how this new M5 model fits into that timeline.