Inside the Apple Vision Pro
A new report says that Apple’s plans for a budget Apple Vision Pro are now expected to see it using lower-resolution displays than it previously planned.
The new report follows a previous one claiming that Japan Display Inc (JDI) had delivered a test sample of a lower-resolution display to Apple. Now Digitimes says that it’s believed Apple is sampling displays at even lower resolution than that.
Specifically, Apple had requested bids for displays of 1,700ppi, and for those screens to be OLED-on-Silicon (OLEDoS) ones, which are brighter than the white OLED plus color filters in the current headset. Apple had previously been reported to be considering OLEDoS screens for a second-generation Apple Vision Pro in 2027.
As well as producing a sample with the lower 1,500ppi, JDI used glass core substrate (GCS) OLED technology instead of OLEDoS. GCS OLED is typically better suited for screens used from a regular distance, rather than for displays meant to be placed near the eye.
Apple appears to have accepted the JDI sample, although its approximately 1,500ppi is significantly lower resolution than the current Apple Vision Pro. The original headset offers around 3,380ppi, which Apple generously describes as being equivalent to a 4K TV per eye.
Digitext says that speculation is that Samsung Display (SDC) is likely to produce GCS OLED screens of around 1,500ppi resolution, too.
Note that Digitimes has a strong track record for its supply chain sources, but a significantly poorer one for the speculative conclusions it draws about Apple’s plans.
Separately, it was reported in June 2024 that Apple had halted work on an updated Apple Vision Pro 2. Instead, it was focusing its efforts on a more consumer-priced version, which backs up the new report of lower-price displays.
