Apple Vision Pro Stays on M5 Hardware 11 Months After Release

What happened

Apple's Vision Pro has not received a hardware update since the M5 model went on sale October 22, 2025, and nearly a year later, that remains the only version Apple sells 12. Apple's own newsroom archive shows a steady run of software milestones since then — accessibility features tied to Apple Intelligence in May 2026, a Spectrum Front Row programming tie-in in January 2026 — but no new chip, no new price, and no successor announcement 3. The company's security-update log confirms the pattern: visionOS 26.6 arrived July 27, 2026, and 26.6.1 followed August 17, 2026, both applied to "Apple Vision Pro (all models)" with no mention of new hardware 1.

The M5 refresh itself was narrow by design. Apple's October 15, 2025 press release framed it around "improved display rendering, faster AI-powered workflows, and extended battery life," plus a new Dual Knit Band described only as "soft, cushioned" 18. Specs gathered from Apple's own materials and buying guides show what actually changed: the M2 chip gave way to M5's 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine, refresh rates topped out at 120Hz instead of 100Hz, and battery life ticked up modestly 912. The price held at $3,499 for 256GB, with 512GB and 1TB tiers above that, and the headset's weight — 750 to 800 grams depending on configuration — did not move 91215. Model number A3416 replaced A2117, but the fundamental device, including its external battery pack and micro-OLED display stack, stayed the same 9.

That continuity is worth stating plainly because Apple has now gone through two full hardware generations — the original M2 model that launched February 2, 2024, and the M5 revision — without ever shipping the second-generation redesign many expected 11. WWDC 2023 introduced Vision Pro as Apple's first "spatial computer" platform, built around visionOS and eye, hand and voice control 1011. The M5 update was, by every account, an internal refresh rather than a redesign.

How the reviewers read the same device differently

Reviewers who tested the M5 model largely agreed on the facts but split on how much they mattered. Tom's Guide called it faster and comfier but concluded "the revolution has stalled," citing the unchanged $3,499 price, missing top apps, and underwhelming AI 13. PCMag rated the device highly, calling the comfort and performance gains "meaningful," while still concluding it suits Apple devotees more than mainstream buyers 14. TechRadar's framing — "faster, clearer, and finally comfortable" — leaned more positive but still flagged price and weight as the persistent obstacles 15. None of these outlets disputed the underlying spec changes; they disagreed only on how to weigh a faster chip and a new headband against a headset that otherwise looks and costs exactly as it did in 2024.

The sales question and the "Apple has given up" story

Separate from the hardware freeze, a cluster of reporting in early-to-mid 2026 argued Apple had effectively abandoned Vision Pro as a product line. MacRumors reported in late April 2026 that Apple had "stopped work on the Vision Pro" after the M5 refresh failed to revive consumer interest, with the Vision Pro team redistributed to other groups, including Siri — a move MacRumors linked to Vision Pro chief Mike Rockwell, who has led Siri development since March 2025 7. That story explicitly noted Apple had not discontinued the M5 model and continues to sell it 7.

AppleInsider and Daring Fireball pushed back on the strongest version of that framing. AppleInsider argued that dissolving a hardware team is "a reorganization, not a death," noting visionOS remains under active development regardless of what happens to headset hardware 16. Daring Fireball's John Gruber went further, writing that the MacRumors report "comes as news to everyone" in Apple's Vision Product Group and questioning whether an incendiary headline was justified by the underlying reporting, while conceding it may be accurate that no third-generation redesign is currently underway 17.

The sales backdrop cited across several outlets is consistent, though always framed as estimate rather than Apple-confirmed data. The Guardian, citing IDC and Sensor Tower figures reported first by the Financial Times, said Apple was expected to ship only about 45,000 units in the final quarter of 2025, that manufacturing partner Luxshare had halted production at the start of 2025, and that Apple's marketing spend on the device had fallen by more than 95% 18. Tom's Guide and PYMNTS both repeated the same 45,000-unit figure and the same production-cut narrative, with PYMNTS adding that the broader VR headset market fell 14% year-over-year while Meta's Quest line held roughly 80% of unit sales 1920. Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring's assessment — that cost, form factor, and thin native-app selection are what kept Vision Pro from selling broadly — appears in the Guardian's account as the closest thing to an on-record explanation for the slowdown 18.

Software has not stood still

Even with hardware frozen, visionOS has kept moving. visionOS 27, previewed at WWDC 2026, drew attention from UploadVR for containing more substantial changes than Apple's keynote suggested, including held-object tracking, an IR LED accessory-tracking framework, and unfoveated screen recording 4. Apple confirmed visionOS 27 would ship for both M2 and M5 headsets, meaning older units get the software benefits too 4. 9to5Mac reported a September 14 release date alongside a feature list that includes a dedicated Siri app, visual intelligence, spatial-scene conversion for ordinary panoramas, a new Thórsmörk environment, and a redesigned Control Center 6. Apple's own May 2026 announcement added Apple Intelligence-powered accessibility tools, including eye-controlled power wheelchair navigation on Vision Pro and on-device generated subtitles 5.

Where the reporting agrees

Every outlet describing the M5 update — Apple's own press materials, MacObserver, PC Guide, Tom's Guide, PCMag, and TechRadar — agrees on the same core facts: the update landed October 15–22, 2025, added the M5 chip and Dual Knit Band, held the price at $3,499, and changed nothing about the headset's fundamental design, weight class, or display technology 128912131415. There is also broad agreement, spanning MacRumors, AppleInsider, and Daring Fireball, that no formal successor has been announced and that Apple has not discontinued the current model 71617. And multiple outlets citing IDC and Sensor Tower data converge on the same rough sales picture — around 45,000 units in Q4 2025 and a production slowdown at Luxshare — even though none of it comes from Apple directly 181920.

Where it doesn't

The disagreement is not about facts but about interpretation, and it centers on one word: "given up." MacRumors reported flatly that Apple has "all but given up on the Vision Pro," attributing this to its own sourcing about internal team reassignments 7. AppleInsider and Daring Fireball do not dispute the underlying detail about staff moving to other projects but reject the framing that this amounts to abandoning the platform, pointing out that visionOS development continues independently of hardware staffing 1617. Gruber in particular treats the MacRumors headline as an overreach not supported by what Apple's own Vision Product Group is reportedly experiencing internally 17.

There's also a quieter tension in how the app ecosystem gets described. Apple's promotional materials tout "over 1 million" compatible apps available on Vision Pro 810, a figure that includes ordinary iPhone and iPad apps running in floating windows rather than software built for spatial interaction. Coverage that scrutinizes the platform's health — including the Guardian's citation of Woodring's critique — treats the much smaller number of purpose-built visionOS apps, around 3,000, as the more meaningful measure of whether developers have bought into the platform 1820.

The reading the evidence supports

Taken together, the reporting supports a narrower conclusion than either extreme. Apple has clearly paused annual or biennial hardware iteration on Vision Pro — that much is undisputed across every outlet that touched the M5 anniversary. What's less settled is whether that pause reflects a strategic retreat toward smart glasses, as MacRumors' sourcing suggests, or simply a normal gap between hardware cycles for a low-volume, technically ambitious product, as Daring Fireball and AppleInsider argue. Given that visionOS 27 is still being built for both chip generations, and that Apple keeps investing in features like eye-controlled wheelchair navigation, the more defensible read is that Apple has frozen the headset's hardware roadmap without abandoning the software platform or the broader spatial-computing bet — a distinction the sharper headlines have sometimes blurred.