Apple’s Next Vision Pro Just Leaked — Here’s Why It Might Not Arrive Until 2029

Apple is testing four completely different designs for a new Apple Vision Pro, according to a fresh report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. One idea would split the headset in two, moving the battery and chip into an external pack you clip to your waist, much like Meta just did with its own VR glasses. None of it is locked in yet, and the earliest realistic launch window is late 2028 or 2029.

That’s a long wait, but the reasoning behind it explains a lot about why the current Vision Pro never became a mainstream hit.

Here’s what’s actually confirmed so far, before we get into the design fight happening inside Apple right now:

• Source: Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, reported September 27, 2026
• Codename: N224, the successor to the original Vision Pro
• Four design concepts under review, including one all-in-one build and one external “puck” build
• Target window: late 2028 to early 2029, not officially confirmed
• Apple is also testing plastic and titanium builds specifically to cut weight

What’s Actually Changing With the New Apple Vision Pro

The core complaint about the original Vision Pro was never the visionOS software. It was the weight sitting on your face and the $3,499 price tag that kept it in developer and enthusiast hands. Gurman’s report says Apple’s engineers are now attacking both problems directly, rather than just bumping the chip.

That means testing alternative materials, including plastic and other metals alongside the titanium frame, to shave grams off the front of the headset. It also means Apple is finally willing to consider architecture changes it avoided the first time around, like moving heavy components off your head entirely.

The Four Design Concepts Apple Is Reportedly Testing

According to MacRumors, Apple’s Vision team is exploring four distinct approaches for the N224 project. They range from a familiar shape to something that looks nothing like the current headset.

Here’s the breakdown reported so far:

• All-in-one, refined: keeps today’s basic egg-shaped silhouette but works to reduce weight
• External puck design: moves the battery and processor into a separate unit, similar to Meta’s newest VR glasses
• Material-first redesign: swaps parts of the titanium body for plastic or other lighter metals
• Chip-driven redesign: waits for a future Apple chip efficient enough to drop active cooling, allowing a thinner shell

Why this matters: Apple rarely lets this many competing directions leak at once, which suggests the team genuinely hasn’t settled on where the next headset lands.

Why the External Battery Pack Idea Is Dividing Apple’s Leadership

The puck concept is the most controversial one. Per Gurman, it would work roughly like Meta’s approach: a separate module holding the battery and compute, connected to the headset, similar in size to the external battery pack Vision Pro already ships with today.

Senior Apple leadership reportedly isn’t sold. Gurman writes that some executives view the split design as a “poor user experience,” and the company’s instinct is still to keep everything self-contained in the headset itself. That tension is a big reason nothing has shipped yet.

How the Rumored Concepts Compare to Today’s Vision Pro

It’s easier to see the trade-offs side by side than to read them as a list. Here’s how the leaked concepts stack up against the headset Apple already sells.

Where This Fits Into Apple’s Bigger AR Plan

Vision Pro isn’t the only headwear project on Apple’s roadmap, and it may not even be the priority one. Gurman reports that Apple is putting more weight behind smart glasses targeted for late 2027, a much cheaper and more wearable category than any headset.

That’s a familiar pattern for Apple lately. The company has leaned into leaked, staged rollouts across its hardware line, from the Apple Home Hub to its rumored touchscreen MacBook Pro, testing reactions before committing to a launch date. The same caution applies here: Gurman is blunt that “there’s still no guarantee a new headset will ever launch” in any of these four forms.

It also lines up with how cautiously Apple has approached other unconventional form factors, including the folding iPhone Apple only recently confirmed, as covered in our iPhone Fold release timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Apple really making a new Vision Pro?

Nothing is confirmed by Apple itself. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is internally testing four concepts under the codename N224, but the company hasn’t announced a product.

When will the new Vision Pro come out?

The report points to late 2028 or early 2029 at the earliest. That timeline could easily shift, since Apple hasn’t picked a final design yet.

Will the new Vision Pro be cheaper than $3,499?

It’s unclear. The report doesn’t confirm pricing, though a lighter, simpler build could open the door to a lower price than the current model.

Is Apple copying Meta’s design with the external battery pack?

Apple is clearly looking at Meta’s approach, but reports say Apple executives are hesitant about it. It’s one of four options being tested, not a confirmed direction.

Should I still buy the current Vision Pro now?

If you need one today, the wait for a successor is long enough that it shouldn’t change your decision. A 2028-or-later launch is too far out to hold off for.

None of these four concepts are locked in, and that’s honestly the most telling part of this leak. Apple spent years building a headset nobody outside its fan base wanted to wear for more than twenty minutes, and it’s now willing to copy a rival’s playbook just to fix the weight problem. That’s a healthy sign, not a weak one — but with a 2028-or-later timeline and smart glasses eating into internal priority, don’t expect the next Vision Pro to be the thing that finally makes spatial computing mainstream. That job increasingly looks like it belongs to the glasses Apple is building instead.