Why has Apple 'sharply cut' Vision Pro headset production target?

Apple Inc. is cutting production targets for its long-awaited mixed-reality Vision Pro headset due to difficulties in producing the complex design, the Financial Times reported.

The iPhone maker is now preparing to make fewer than 400,000 units of the $3,499 device in 2024, and plans for a more affordable version have been pushed back, the paper said on Monday, citing unidentified people with direct knowledge of the manufacturing process.

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Two unidentified China-based suppliers of components for the Vision Pro separately said Apple was only asking for enough parts for 130,000 to 150,000 units in the first year, the paper said.

Both suggest a sharp cut from a previous internal sales target of 1 million units in the first 12 months, the FT said. Apple declined to comment on the Vision Pro, and Luxshare, the sole assembler of the headset, did not respond to the comment, the newspaper said.

The Cupertino, California-based maker unveiled the new Vision Pro headset last month, the culmination of more than seven years of development.