Ten months after its launch, the Vision Pro headset is not yet a blockbuster for Apple. Sales figures are disappointing and developers are in no hurry to develop applications for the device.

Apple had big dreams with the Vision Pro, but the headset’s first year is threatening to turn into a nightmare. After a short hyper phase, sales of the headset have collapsed completely since the third quarter. A limited app offering has a lot to do with it: Apple is having difficulty convincing developers to create apps tailored to glasses.

Although Apple itself is tight on sales figures for its mixed reality headset, analysts estimate that the number of units sold will not exceed 400,000,000. There was a lot of interest when it launched in the US earlier this year, but sales quickly declined. The third quarter and the expansion into multiple markets made no difference. Far below the initial expectations of Apple, which itself has already scaled back production.

Chicken and egg

The Wall Street Journal puts its finger on the painful wound: There are too few applications for the Vision Pro. Apple itself states that there are 2,500 apps for the Vision Pro, other figures put it at just under 2,000. That’s much less than Meta Quest, which has a library of more than 3,500 applications. Furthermore, only a third of these applications are designed specifically for the Vision Pro: most applications are existing apps that are pushed to the headset.

This means that only a few applications take full advantage of the Vision Pro’s capabilities. The headset lacks a “killer app”: Anyone who has already bought the device will quickly lose interest. In September, just ten new applications appeared in the App Store for Vision Pro.

Why developers ignore Vision Pro seems to be a classic chicken-and-egg problem. Apple is having trouble selling the Vision Pro because the range of apps is too limited. But disappointing sales won’t prompt developers to rush into developing apps tailored to the device.

Cheaper version

Another stumbling block for the Vision Pro is undoubtedly the price. For one Vision Pro headset you can buy ten Meta Quests 3S. If it turns out that there are more applications, it will be a difficult story for the Vision Pro. Not to mention, interest in anything Metaverse-related is already lower than it was a few years ago.

Apple hasn’t completely given up on the Vision Pro yet and is said to be working on a “cheaper” version of the headset that will still cost up to $2,000. The new version would, among other things, be equipped with an A processor used for iPhones and would eliminate the EyeSight function. This model could potentially hit the market early next year.