Apple is internally exploring a next-generation headset project codenamed N224, with weight, heat, and possibly price all on the table, according to Bloomberg, as reported by 9to5Mac. The project remains unconfirmed, and Apple has said nothing publicly about N224 specifically. Weight and battery constraints have drawn consistent criticism since the current Vision Pro launched, and the reported exploration suggests Apple is looking for ways to address both. One key factor in any solution will be advances in custom silicon efficiency.
Four Concepts, No Clear Winner
Apple is reportedly weighing a lighter all-in-one headset against a split design that moves the processor and battery into a separate external puck.
Bloomberg’s reporting, via 9to5Mac, says Apple is evaluating approximately four design concepts for N224 rather than pursuing a single finalized direction. One path keeps the familiar egg-shaped visor. It attempts to trim weight through materials such as plastic, titanium, or other metals. The other major concept offloads both the computing hardware and battery into an external puck connected to the headset, a structural approach that resembles what Meta recently unveiled with its own VR glasses.
The puck concept has a clear appeal: less mass and heat pressing against your face. But some Apple executives reportedly favor staying closer to an all-in-one design, per Bloomberg via 9to5Mac. That internal disagreement means no concept has cleared Apple’s internal bar yet, and the project Bloomberg characterizes as potentially “on life support” could change direction or disappear entirely.
Why the Weight Problem Is Hard to Solve
Apple’s confirmed M5 specs reveal how much hardware is packed into the current Vision Pro’s visor, and why trimming it down is a genuine engineering challenge.
Apple lists the current M5 Vision Pro with a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB of unified memory, and 153GB/s memory bandwidth. The R1 chip processes input from 12 cameras, five sensors, and six microphones in real time. Packing all of that into a head-mounted form factor, while managing thermals and rendering high-resolution micro-OLED displays, helps explain the device’s weight.
Moving the processor and battery into an external puck could reduce facial mass and heat, but it would introduce trade-offs around cables, wireless connectivity, and carrying yet another accessory. An all-in-one design preserves simplicity. Achieving that, however, would require meaningful advances in chip efficiency, thermal management, or materials science before the weight drops noticeably. These are engineering implications, not confirmed N224 specifications.
The Vision Air That Never Was
Apple reportedly shelved an earlier lighter headset project before N224 emerged, leaving its spatial computing roadmap uncertain.
Apple reportedly abandoned a prior project called N100, commonly described as a possible “Vision Air,” which targeted a lighter and less expensive Vision Pro-style device. N224 is not clearly framed as a budget replacement, and no price or pricing strategy has been confirmed. Apple’s Vision hardware roadmap should be read as fluid rather than as a predictable release schedule.
If N224 ever reaches store shelves, Bloomberg’s reporting via 9to5Mac suggests the earliest window is late 2028 to early 2029. That is not a confirmed release date. It is the earliest possible timeframe based on current reported development. For anyone considering a Vision Pro purchase today, the currently confirmed Vision Pro model is the only product available, and whatever Apple eventually builds to follow it remains, for now, a collection of unresolved concepts.
