Report: Apple pauses major Vision Pro revamp to fast-track AI smart glasses

Apple has reportedly paused a lighter/cheaper Vision Pro follow-up to focus resources on AI-assisted smart glasses, aiming to better counter Meta’s consumer-priced wearables.

What’s new

Bloomberg reports Apple has shelved the near-term “Vision Air/cheaper Vision Pro” effort to prioritize a multi-year push into smart glasses. The shift would reallocate people and budget away from a big headset overhaul toward a smaller, always-on form factor.

Why it matters

• Form factor reality: The mass market has signaled it prefers lightweight glasses over heavy headsets for everyday use.
• AI at the edge: Glasses lean on on-device NPU + cloud assist for vision, translation and context—topics we unpack in GPU vs NPU for local AI workloads.
• Competitive timing: Meta has traction with Ray-Ban Meta; Apple would rather fight there than in $3,499 territory in the near term.

What to watch

• Signs of supply-chain retooling (lens/camera modules, low-power NPUs).
• Software hints in iOS betas (glasses-class privacy/permissions, live-assist endpoints).
• Developer guidance around “eyes-free” UX patterns and safety rails.

Sources

• Bloomberg
• MacRumors (Bloomberg relay)
• 9to5Mac (Bloomberg relay)