Despite its impressive technology, Apple's all-singing, all-dancing Vision Pro didn't catch the world's attention. But it's still early days, and the company will continue to push the headset forward, reporting that it plans to add artificial intelligence capabilities to visionOS, and has an updated approach ready for in-store demos.

Apple is working through the challenge of incorporating Apple Intelligence into the augmented reality interface of the headset, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported today. That could be a relief for Vision Pro owners who were disappointed that the company didn’t mention it during the AI portion of its WWDC 2024 keynote presentation instead of the single-strap Solo Loop band, which some find uncomfortable. Apple will also reportedly let people view their videos and photos, including panoramas, on the headset. Adding an emotional touch to the demo could work, especially when VisionOS 2 launches this fall with its "spatial detection" option that turns 2D photos into 3D, a feature that's more impressive than it has any right to be (though still an impressive feature). . But I think it would be the opposite if people saw the wrong image. You know how when you look at your iPhone photos on your computer screen, all of their flaws suddenly become apparent? Try to observe them when they are the size of a wall.

But it feels like it's all just sorting itself out before the company releases a pair of cheaper headphones expected at the end of next year. However, it's not clear what it will look like, as there are currently conflicting rumors, such as that its successor will feature a lower-resolution display, or that it was actually intended to retain the high-resolution display, but was discontinued in Developing Vision Pro 2 (or not).

However, the common thread in all of these stories is that Apple had a hard time making the headphones it wanted to make without spending a ton of dollars. It's too early to call the Vision Pro a dead end, but I can't shake the feeling that Apple won't be able to move forward without these cheaper headphones unless it can make the Vision Pro serve a niche market.