Apple is reportedly working on a cheaper version of its $3,000 AR/VR headset for the rest of us.

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Apple is reportedly working on a cheaper version of its AR/VR headset, one that’s expected to cost less than the $3,000 we’re expected to ship later this year.

Apple’s entry into the world of AR/VR is something that has been expected for a long time and is now expected to happen in the coming months. But it’s also expected to cost a small fortune, with a price tag of $3,000 often managing. Now, it is claimed that Apple could have seen the light of day, and is planning a version that we could actually afford.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple’s cheapest entry is now in the works and could arrive as soon as 2024 or, perhaps, early 2025. The headset will be a “lower-cost version of the mixed reality headset.” “. that will come soon, says Gurman.

Although it is still not 100% clear What Apple intends to make the product cheaper, we can expect a reduction in the features, capabilities and quality of the components. “Apple aims to lower the price of the next mixed reality device by using chips on par with iPhone instead of components found in high-end Mac computers,” Gurman says in his Bloomberg report. .

However, the arrival of headphones is reportedly only happening because Apple has had to shelve plans for something even more ambitious: AR glasses.

Those AR glasses were set to be an ambitious product that would do away with the cumbersome headset we’re used to and be used to overlay information in the real world. But Gurman says technical difficulties have killed those plans, and Apple has now delayed that product and replaced it with a cheaper version of its AR/VR headset.

As for when those AR glasses will now ship, no one knows. But Apple can now add them to a growing collection of projects that have been in the works for years but are showing little sign of shipping. Apple Car, we’re looking at you.