Don’t count out an M4-powered Apple Vision Pro just yet

Earlier this week, it was reported that the next-gen Apple Vision Pro will come with the upcoming M5 chip and not the current M4. Not so fast, however, says the source of the M4-powered Apple Vision Pro.

Mark Gurman responded to the apparent code leak that referenced a variety of unannounced Apple hardware, including the next Apple Vision Pro.

It was Ming-Chi Kuo who claimed Apple Vision Pro 2 would be powered by the M5 chip and support Apple Intelligence. That was September 2024. Apple added Apple Intelligence support to the current Apple Vision Pro in February 2025.

More recently, Gurman has reported for Bloomberg that Apple is using an M4 chip inside the second-generation Apple Vision Pro.

Having Apple Vision Pro 2 ship with a chip one generation behind would mirror the current model, which uses the M2 even though it launched after the M3 was already available. The original Apple Vision Pro was announced nearly a year before release, which helps explain why it shipped with the M2 instead of the M3.

One takeaway from the code leak suggesting Apple Vision Pro 2 will use the M5 chip is that it doesn’t improve the outlook for a more affordable model. The price gap between the M4 and M5 is negligible compared to the components that drive the $3,500 cost. Still, sticking with the previous-generation chip could serve as one of many cost-saving measures that adds up.

So is an M5 Apple Vision Pro essentially a lock? Not exactly. Mark Gurman writes in this week’s Power On newsletter that he continues to hear Apple is testing versions with the M4, adding that it is certainly plausible the company has considered both.

This is where the context of the code leak is important. It’s an interesting data point, but I still put significant weight behind Mark Gurman’s reporting.

Another thought: what would an M5 do for Apple Vision Pro 2 that M4 can’t? Both are speed boosts over the M2, and as Gurman also writes in this week’s Power On, speed really isn’t what’s holding back Apple Vision Pro for now:

When you get down to the core of the problem, Apple Inc.’s Vision Pro headset isn’t selling well for two reasons: its $3,499 price tag and a lack of sufficiently compelling features. […]

In the near term, Apple isn’t going to dramatically improve the Vision Pro. The next version, coming as soon as this year, will mostly just get a faster chip. […]

The bigger upgrade is coming in 2027, when Apple will release a model that is both cheaper and lighter, I’ve reported. 

I think upgrading Apple Vision Pro with a straightforward processor boost is better than letting the first-gen model age without grace. Still, perhaps the chip we should be most curious about when it comes to Vision and what most people will use if the cheaper one takes off more than the $3,500 version.

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