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

The Vision Pro 2 is reportedly coming by the end of next year, packing an M5 chip and built for AI ‘from the ground up’ (as Apple might say). Here’s why this news has me excited, and why I think it’s exactly the right move for Apple.

Why Vision Pro shipped when it did

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

AR and VR are still in their very early stages of adoption. But the dilemma many tech companies have faced is: how do you build up the technology and platform without having devices out in the wild?

So Apple shipped the Vision Pro earlier this year. It hasn’t set the world on fire or meaningfully contributed to the company’s bottom line. It’s arguably too expensive and too heavy. And it’s still going to live or die on Apple’s ‘spatial computer’ positioning.

But it’s real. It’s in users’ hands. Developers are building apps for it. Technologies like visionOS, Immersive Video, and Spatial photos are growing and expanding. Slowly, the Vision Pro is making a ‘spatial computing’ future more possible than before.

The goal: reaching the masses

Eventually, Apple wants its Vision products to be a huge hit. The next big thing. It wants spatial computing to be something that everyone does.

To get there, though, we need (at minimum) a Vision product that is:

• not as heavy
• more versatile
• less expensive

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

But while Apple toils away 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

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

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

The Vision Pro 2 is reportedly going to include an M5 chip and have a heavy Apple Intelligence focus.

And I say: great!

Apple Intelligence is clearly a huge priority for Apple. So its current absence from visionOS is disappointing for a $3,500, otherwise-cutting edge product.

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

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

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