Sat, Aug 22Bearish1 story
Apple Inc.
In short
Apple is cutting over 200 jobs from its Vision Pro and Siri teams as the $3,499 headset fails to gain traction in the market. The company is redirecting resources toward developing smart glasses instead.
Apple lays off staffers on Vision Pro and Siri projects
Apple is laying off more than 200 staffers on its Vision Pro and Siri teams, according to Bloomberg reporting cited by The Verge. The cuts include largely shutting down a Vision Pro gaming team and reducing the size of the team that makes Vision Pro immersive content. Apple said it was making the changes to "evolve our business to deliver the best experiences for our users," though it will be creating new roles elsewhere.
The Vision Pro, which launched in early 2024 at $3,499, has not gained traction as Apple's spatial computing bet. Bloomberg reported in May that Apple is working on a slimmer, lighter successor, but a few weeks later reported the company suspended work with Samsung Display on a display for an entry-level XR device. The headset was updated last year with an M5 chip.
Apple's new -powered Siri launched at this year's WWDC and is set to reach public later this year. The Siri layoffs suggest the company is shifting resources away from near-term consumer hardware and toward longer-term bets: Bloomberg recently reported Apple plans to announce its own smart glasses at WWDC 2027 and launch them by year-end 2027, following the success of Meta's smart glasses.
Why this matters
Hardware layoffs paired with AI team expansion reveal that consumer device bets now lose priority to software platforms with lower unit economics and longer monetization runways.
What it adds up to
Apple's pivot away from Vision Pro suggests the premium headset strategy isn't working, but it's unclear whether smart glasses will fare better or if this represents a broader retreat from spatial computing ambitions.