The Apple Vision Pro headset has been spotted with an unknown USB-C adapter attached in a new video from the company aimed at developers. The Platforms State of the Union video clearly shows the new $3,499 headset resting on a desk with the adapter connected to the strap on the right side of the headset.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about Apple’s upcoming headset and, predictably, this sliver of information has got social media into a guessing game.
One part of the video appears to show the Vision Pro using the adapter to connect directly to a Mac Studio. The actual pathway of the cable is obscured, but since the discussion in the video is about developing for visionOS, it would seem sensible to provide a direct connection.
Headsets don’t have a lot of available space to work with and we know the left side of the Vision Pro is where the external battery pack is attached, presumably with a USB-C cable. So, adding a multi-use adapter on the other side may be Apple’s only viable option for increasing connectivity for the device.
However, we have no way of knowing if this adapter will ship with the headset, be sold separately or is only intended for developers. Twitter user @M1Astra, who spotted the adapter, suggested it could be part of a “developer strap” that may be different from the strap included for the consumer model.
“Looks like the strap has two ports: left side is for the longer cable leading to the battery, while the right side is presumably for Xcode\app development,” they tweeted. “It’s connected to an adapter which leads to a Mac.”
Looks like the strap has two ports: left side is for the longer cable leading to the battery, while the right side is presumably for Xcode\app development. It’s connected to an adapter which leads to a Mac.June 7, 2023
Rumored limit on Apple Vision Pro unit shipments
We’re now a week on from the WWDC reveal of the Vision Pro and Tim Cook has quashed any hope the headset will be available to buy in time for the Christmas holidays. Apple has said the device won’t hit shelves until early 2024 and even then, the company is only expected to produce a few hundred thousand units.
According to a report from The Elec, Sony (which creates the panels used in the headset) is only able to produce 900,000 units annually. And, since each Vision Pro needs two, that’s a hard limit of 450,000 products that can feasibly be built in a year. According to unnamed sources quoted in that same report, Cupertino has asked Sony to expand its production but the Japanese giant has refused.
The good news is, over time, the bottleneck will surely decrease and there are already whispers of a more affordable version of Vision Pro in the pipeline. Just don’t get your hopes up about seeing this until 2025 at the earliest.
How the mysterious adapter works into the overall functionality of the Vision Pro remains to be seen, but Tom’s Guide did get some limited hands-on time with Vision Pro at WWDC. My colleague Mark Spoonauer was impressed with both the hardware and software at Apple’s highly-choreographed event, and you can read his thoughts about trying the device right here.
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