Sources: Apple considers options for its headsets, including moving compute to iPhone, and is working on homeOS; Masimo's new CEO could enable a deal with Apple

Meta's latest AR glasses and cheaper mixed-reality headset add pressure on Apple to make its Vision push work.

Bloomberg 2024-09-30 Mark Gurman

Context & Ripple Effects

Apple's headset planning is being shaped by Meta's concurrent push toward AR glasses and a lower-cost mixed-reality device, which raised the urgency around making the Vision effort more viable. Related coverage also points to a broader Apple exploration of smart glasses, including an internal employee study of products already on the market.

The reported work on homeOS places the headset discussion alongside a wider home-device strategy. Subsequent coverage connected that strategy to a lower-priced headset and a Vision Pro successor, suggesting Apple is evaluating a product range rather than treating its current headset design as fixed.

First-order effects

Apple can evaluate an iPhone-tethered compute design as an alternative to keeping all processing in the headset, potentially changing the product's hardware and software requirements before a launch decision is made.
A leadership change at Masimo may reopen the possibility of an Apple-Masimo agreement, though the report describes that outcome as contingent rather than completed.

Second-order effects

An iPhone-linked headset would make iPhone compatibility and processing capability more central to the headset proposition, concentrating more of the user experience inside Apple's existing device ecosystem.
Meta's lower-cost headset and AR-glasses push increases the competitive benchmark Apple must address; Apple's reported reassessment signals that price, form factor, and computing architecture are becoming connected competitive choices.

Third-order effects

If Apple adopts split compute across phone and wearable, headsets could increasingly be designed as companion devices rather than self-contained computers—a model that can trade standalone capability for lower on-device hardware demands.
The combination of headset, glasses, and homeOS work points to a longer-term contest over which device becomes the interface for ambient computing; whether Apple can turn those efforts into a coherent platform remains unresolved.

The trend: Spatial-computing vendors are moving toward portfolios that balance standalone immersion with lighter wearables and compute distributed across existing devices.

Discussion

@aaronabrady Aaron Brady on threads
I disagree on the demo not helping Meta: Boz said in the Stratechery interview how AVP helped Quest by raising awareness and getting more component manufacturers to take it seariously. There's a huge amount of this that needs to happen for Orion. The Silicon Carbide lenses, for…
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on threads
Apple showed a device that's very cool, but also bulky, impractical, very expensive and 5+ years from being ready for consumers. You can buy it, if you really want. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Meta showed a device that's very cool, but also bulky, impractical, very expensive and 5+ years from being …
@viticci@mastodon.macstories.net @viticci@mastodon.macstories.net on mastodon
@stroughtonsmith the thing is, I'd rather spend $10k on those glasses than the $4.5k (after shipping + accessories) for a Vision Pro that also lasts two hours 😜
@stroughtonsmith … Steve Troughton-Smith on mastodon
People of a certain generation are like ‘glasses make you weird and ugly’, young people are ‘glasses are hot and fashionable’. But let's not grade on a curve here. Vision Pro gets a battery life of 2 hours. Vision Pro is too thick and chunky. Vision Pro looks weird and ugly. …
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
One thing I found interesting about Apple Vision Pro is that it broke from Apple's approach of building the polished version of a nerdy product and bringing it to the masses (e.g. iPod, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch). The Vision Pro is more like the Lisa https://www.bloomberg.com/…
@cixliv @cixliv on x
@tawnniee @markgurman It would be more like the @BigscreenVR form factor instead of glasses if it's a step from Vision Pro
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Comparing a $3500 headset available today to a $10,000 prototype that won't become a product for 3-5 years would be baffling. The good news is that is not what is happening here. It's a comparison of overall strategy, from non-AR glasses to $300 headsets to AR advancements.
@anshelsag Anshel Sag on x
@markgurman IMHO they took this path because it's the safe bet. Apple isn't trying to beat anyone to building a standalone AR headset, they just want to have one ready when they can make decent margins and developers have already built enough apps for VisionOS.
@cezaryxr Cezary Sobociński on x
Apple is not on the bad track with Vision Pro. Both MR headsets and AR Glasses will coexist. Meta is not resigning from MR headsets either. By the time AR Glasses becomes a consumer product, we will have outstanding MR headsets that excel in capabilities.
@tina__nigro Tina Debove Nigro on x
I love my Vision Pro but would love it even more if it were lighter and more comfortable. On the other hand I use my Meta × Ray Ban glasses even more and kind of wish it was part of the Apple ecosystem.
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Also in Power On: Apple is ramping up work on a low-end iPad-based smart display for next year with homeOS and Apple Intelligence. It'll be a precursor to future high-end tabletop robot. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Power On: Meta's latest headset and glasses push shows Apple's own mixed-reality efforts need a complete makeover. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Former Apple designer Christopher Stringer of Syng signs on as an advisor at Opal, the high-end webcam maker that OpenAI recently invested in. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
The resignation of Masimo's CEO (the company that got blood oxygen banned on Apple Watches in the US) opens the door to a deal, I believe. I explain why in Power On. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Apple is exploring several different directions in headsets: a Vision Pro 2 and cheaper model; A headset that moves processing & battery to an iPhone; Non-AR smart glasses; AirPods with cameras plus AI and, of course, the holy grail standalone AR glasses. https://www.bloomberg.co…
r/gadgets r on reddit
Meta's AR Glasses Show Apple Has Lost Its Way With the Vision Pro
r/technology r on reddit
Meta's AR Glasses Show Apple Has Lost Its Way With the Vision Pro
r/apple r on reddit
Meta's AR Glasses Show Apple Has Lost Its Way With the Vision Pro

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