Apple has recently laid off around 100 employees involved with its Vision Pro project, significantly downsizing both its spatial gaming and immersive video teams. Reports by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman indicated that this move also affected staff working on headset security, spatial audio engineering, spatial Siri integration, and the visionOS itself.
In a statement regarding these layoffs, Apple acknowledged the impact on existing roles but expressed gratitude for the contributions of affected team members, promising support through their transition, including opportunities to apply for other positions within the company.
Despite the layoffs, Apple insists it is not abandoning the VR/MR space. Executives reassured staff that Vision Pro headsets and the visionOS are still part of their future planning. The shutdown of the spatial gaming unit is attributed to the lack of gaming usage on the device, while the downsizing of the immersive video team relates to the high costs of content production against the limited number of Vision Pro owners.
Additionally, Gurman suggested that Apple is developing a “slimmer and lighter” headset intended for release in late 2028, pending the success of the broader headset market. Meanwhile, Apple is also focusing on its upcoming screenless smart glasses, set to launch next year.
