The End of an Era? Vision Pro Reportedly Halted as Apple's Spatial Computing Story Falters

Not long into 2026, troubling news has emerged: Apple's Vision Pro may be on its last legs. Following earlier reports from Bloomberg that Apple had shelved plans for a more affordable 'Lite' version, a new rumor from an industry insider suggests the company has all but ceased industry-side maintenance for the Vision Pro. In simple terms, the device has entered a semi-production halt, with only minimal capacity and component lines remaining active to service future maintenance needs.

If true, this effectively signals the end for the Vision Pro, at least for the next two to three years. The device, once hailed as the dawn of the "post-iPhone era," has gone from Apple's star of tomorrow to a mere "reference design" in the lab in less than two years since its launch—a truly sobering development. Concurrently, reports indicate Apple's R&D focus has decisively shifted from immersive headsets to lightweight AR glasses, dealing another blow to the already struggling XR market.

Image source: Wikipedia

Vision Pro's failure, rooted in "arrogance"?

Looking back at the Vision Pro's journey from 2026, its launch feels less like a new product release and more like a flex of technological muscle. The device itself never seemed destined for the mainstream, appearing instead as an experimental product pieced together with costly hardware, regardless of the price. With a launch price of $3,499 in the US and €3,999 in the EU, the Vision Pro was priced out of reach for the average consumer from day one. Apple attempted to position it as a "professional tool," but the reality was that it lacked the productivity or unique experience to justify its cost. For the same price, consumers could purchase a top-tier workstation for a massive efficiency boost or a 100-inch flagship TV for an unparalleled family entertainment experience.

Image source: Apple

The Vision Pro offered a flashy but limited virtual desktop and a few well-produced immersive videos that lost their appeal after one viewing. The productivity scenarios showcased at launch proved less efficient than a simple mouse and keyboard in practice. This high barrier to entry alienated not only users but also developers. The developer experience was hampered by severe privacy restrictions that prevented direct camera access and provided only simplified environmental data through APIs, stifling innovation. Furthermore, the eye-tracking interaction, while clever, caused rapid eye fatigue, rendering it unsuitable for sustained work. The device's identity was confused: as a productivity tool, its input methods were inefficient; as an entertainment device, its closed ecosystem, bulky design, and demanding video requirements left it trailing behind more affordable competitors like the Meta Quest.

Image source: Apple

Perhaps the most critical misstep was Apple's attempt to build its own exclusive XR ecosystem from scratch. By not natively supporting mature standards like OpenXR and pushing its proprietary RealityKit and ARKit, Apple created a dead-end loop of "no apps, no users, and therefore no new apps." Developers were unwilling to rebuild applications for a small user base, especially without controller support—a standard for every other major XR platform. Apple's insistence on hand, eye, and voice interaction as the *only* input method was a critical error, denying users choice. Ultimately, Apple's mistake was its arrogance: forcing a futuristic concept into an expensive headset before the technology was mature, driven by a logic of "advancement for advancement's sake" that ignored practical market realities.

Image source: Meta

Samsung XR's advance, doing what Apple couldn't?

As Apple retreats, its rival Samsung stepped in with the Galaxy XR in late 2025. This flagship device, a collaboration between Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm running on Android XR, was seen as the most likely successor to the Vision Pro. However, it too suffers from the same core issues: uncomfortable wear, a high price tag (even at half of Apple's), and the absence of a killer app. Its primary advantage is access to the vast Android XR app library, ensuring users have content from day one. It also integrates the Gemini multimodal AI, a feature the Vision Pro lacked at launch. Despite this, its position is precarious. At four times the price of the Meta Quest 3, it's hard to justify the cost for what is essentially a higher-resolution version of its competitor. The Android XR ecosystem also remains fragmented, making it difficult for developers to achieve the seamless hardware-software integration that is Apple's hallmark.

Image source: Samsung

Conclusion

From the vantage point of 2026, the failure of the Vision Pro marks the end of the first major commercial attempt at an "all-in-one" spatial computing device. But this doesn't spell total defeat for Apple in the XR space. Instead, it's a multi-billion-dollar lesson: even the most advanced technology is doomed to fail if it disregards user needs and market realities. As Apple potentially prepares to launch AR glasses, it may adopt a more cautious strategy, focusing on its ecosystem strengths by creating seamless integration between the iPhone, MacBook, and iPad. The question remains whether Apple can deliver the game-changing device that will secure its leadership in the post-iPhone era. Only time will tell.

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