Apple Vision Pro teardown: What’s inside the $3,500 headset
Apple’s Vision Pro is an expensive piece of kit. It starts at $3,499, not including extras and accessories that can push the price north of four thousand dollars. But it’s also a technological marvel, with a ton of new technology packed into a device that adapts to your face. So what exactly is inside the […]
Apple’s Vision Pro is an expensive piece of kit. It starts at $3,499, not including extras and accessories that can push the price north of four thousand dollars.
But it’s also a technological marvel, with a ton of new technology packed into a device that adapts to your face. So what exactly is inside the Apple Vision Pro? Thanks to the repairers of I fix itnow we know.
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The first takeaway from the teardown is that you absolutely should not try this at home. The Vision Pro is not designed to be easily disassembled, and attempting to do so will likely result in a broken device.
That’s a lot of…stuff.
Credit: Apple
The second surprising thing (well, maybe not surprising if you’re up to date with the news) specifications of Vision Pro, but really amazing) is all there is to cover here. From the myriad of cameras and sensors built into the device, to the internal stereo OLED displays, to the bizarre external EyeSight display, to the speakers, to the never-before-seen connectors, to the light seals and face pads, to the lens inserts and to the headbands, up to the new R1. chip inside, it’s a complicated gadget.
To see what we mean, just watch the video below and count how many screws are unscrewed during disassembly. It’s a lot.
The teardown focuses a bit on EyeSight, which it calls a “dark” and “low-resolution” display that “adds a lot of bulk, weight, complexity and expense to the most weight-sensitive part of the headset.” Given early reviewers’ impressions of EyeSight, it seems like Apple might have been better off simply rejecting the idea of showing a simulated version of your eyes to passersby. But then again, perhaps a future improved version of the device fixes these flaws.
As for the external battery, it’s basically three iPhone-sized batteries crammed into one case. The only surprise here is that the batteries themselves only weigh 184 grams, which makes us wonder: why the hell does the battery have to weigh 353 grams? It’s not clear from the teardown.
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It appears this initial teardown only scratches the surface, and iFixit says it will soon be followed by more teardown videos. For now, though, the verdict is similar to everything we’ve seen and heard about the Vision Pro so far: it’s impressive but complicated, imperfect but definitely very, very interesting.
