Apple's Vision Pro headset has reportedly struggled to sell in sufficient quantities to justify a true successor, so the company has turned to less expensive models.

This certainly seems like a sensible strategy. Weight, comfort, and form factor are just three reasons why the headset will not appeal to the masses like the iPhone or iPod, but they are all insignificant compared to the $3,500 price tag.

While it is already rumored that the next headset may need to tether to a Mac or iPhone to reduce processing costs, a new report in the Korean publication The Elec suggests.

According to the site, Apple has contacted manufacturers of small OLED-on-Silicon (OLEDoS) panels and is seeking units in the 2.0 to 2.1 inch size with a pixel density of 1,700 pixels per inch (PPI).

For comparison, the current model has a 1.42" Sony OLEDoS panel with a pixel density of 3,386 PPI. This results in a resolution of 3,660 x 3,200 per eye, and assuming the new panel shares the same aspect ratio, the resolution would drop to approximately 2,600 x 2,300.

This obviously leads to a reduction in image sharpness, which is a drawback for screens that are positioned much closer to the eye. Nevertheless, 2,600 x 2,300 is still high compared to competitors, with the Meta Quest 3 recording a resolution of 2,064 x 2,208 and Sony's PSVR 2 a resolution of 2,000 x 2,040.

Elec highlights both LG and Samsung as partners for the new panels. Samsung has a production line for OLED panels with color filters similar to those used by Apple in its Vision Pro, while LG currently does not. However, the report adds that Samsung is hoping to steer Apple toward a slightly different technology that uses RGB pixels in the OLED panel to achieve higher brightness levels.

Apple Vision Pro emphasizes the "Pro" part of the name, so it appears that a less expensive headset might be the regular "Apple Vision." Lowering the resolution and tethering from other Apple hardware sound like two sensible ways to lower the price.

However, Meta's $499 Quest 3 is still one-seventh the price of the Vision Pro, so Apple is unlikely to be a worthwhile option.