After expanding Apple Vision Pro to more regions, Apple was reported to be pausing the development of Vision Pro 2 in favor of an affordable or cheaper alternative. Now it turns out the company is eyeing new suppliers for OLED-on-Silicon (OLEDoS) panels, further indicating that Apple may indeed be working on an affordable Vision Pro.
According to The Elec, Apple is looking for partners to manage the supply chain for OLEDoS panels, which are critical for Vision Pro. Currently, Sony supplies these high-resolution microdisplays, but their production capacity is limited to 900,000 panels per year, and they have no plans to expand further.
At a time when Apple is expanding Vision Pro to more regions and plans to release an affordable variant, having only one major supplier might pose a hurdle. This is why Apple has reached out to Samsung Display and LG Display, who also help Apple in iPhone display production.
Apple has reached out to Samsung Display and LG Display for details about whether the giants could produce larger OLED panels. Reportedly, these panels would be between 2.0 and 2.1 inches and have a display quality of around 1,700 pixels per inch (PPI).
Therefore, the displays Apple is considering would be bigger than the current Vision Pro’s, albeit with a lower resolution. For context, Vision Pro currently uses Sony’s 1.42-inch OLEDoS with 3,400 PPI. Plus, these panels use advanced white OLED display with color filter (wOLED+CF) tech.
That said, Apple may be working on bringing on a more affordable Vision Pro alternative. Recent reports suggest that the affordable variant mightn’t be a standalone device, meaning it would require an iPhone or Mac and cannot function without them. It is expected to debut at the end of 2025, at a price tag of approximately $1,500.
Moreover, Apple may finally instill its Apple Intelligence in Vision Pro headsets, thanks to the sufficient memory and processor. However, the catch is that Vision Pro won’t get the Apple Intelligence features this year, similar to the EU.