Apple cuts Vision Pro production and guts advertising budget in pull back

Apple has cut Vision Pro production and gutted its advertising budget, pulling back hard from what was supposed to be its next big thing.

The $3,499 headset was hyped as a “spatial computing” leap, but it’s now one of the company’s quietest misfires, as it could ship only 45,000 Vision Pro units during the holiday season.

Luxshare, Apple’s Chinese partner, shut down the Vision Pro’s manufacturing line back in early 2025 after only 390,000 units got shipped in 2024, according to International Data Corporation (IDC).

Sensor Tower says Apple cut digital marketing for Vision Pro by more than 95% in major markets like the US and UK.

Apple fails to drive demand and doesn’t expand Vision Pro globally

The company didn’t launch the Vision Pro in any new country in 2025. It’s still being sold directly in just 13 countries, and that’s it. There’s no big expansion, no global strategy, and definitely no growth. And Apple still hasn’t shared any official sales numbers for the device.

Analysts and critics say they’re not surprised. “We can say the cost, form factor and the lack of VisionOS native apps are the reasons why the Vision Pro never sold broadly,” said Erik Woodring from Morgan Stanley.

Others have pointed out how heavy and uncomfortable the headset is, especially during longer use. Battery life didn’t help either.

In response, Apple dropped a newer M5 version of the Vision Pro back in October. It had a faster chip, better battery, and a new headband. That didn’t change much. Most buyers still stayed away. Apple is now expected to try again with a cheaper, lower-spec version sometime this year. But there’s no guarantee that will work either.

The entire virtual reality market shrank 14% year-over-year, according to Counterpoint Research, which also pointed out that Mark Zuck’s Meta still owns about 80% of the market with its cheaper Quest headsets, which start around $370. Even Meta has been spending far less on advertising over the last year.

One of the Vision Pro’s biggest issues is the lack of content. There just aren’t enough apps to make people want the headset. At the same time, there aren’t enough users to motivate developers to build more apps. That’s a deadlock.

Apple says there are 3,000 apps made specifically for the Vision Pro, but most of them are niche tools or built for companies.

Appfigures, a market intelligence firm, said many of those apps are likely industry-specific, not for regular consumers. So far, the Vision Pro has found some use in enterprise markets like surgery training and flight simulation. But that’s far from what Apple wanted.

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