Apple today unveiled an upgraded version of its Vision Pro headset. The new model keeps the $3,499 price tag but introduces a more powerful M5 chip, a redesigned strap called the Dual Knit Band, and improved battery life. The rest of the design remains largely unchanged.

What’s New Under the Hood

  • M5 Chip: The upgraded Vision Pro now runs on Apple’s M5 silicon, built using a third-generation 3-nanometer process. The chip includes a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators in each core, and a 16-core Neural Engine. Apple claims that it offers over 4× the peak GPU compute performance for AI tasks compared to the prior M4 generation.
  • Display & Rendering Gains: Thanks to the M5’s power, the headset can drive more pixels and support refresh rates up to 120 Hz (compared with 100 Hz before). Apple says system-level rendering is sharper throughout the interface.
  • Battery Life: General use time increases to about 2.5 hours; video playback extends to 3 hours (versus prior 2 hours and 2.5 hours, respectively).
  • Software Upgrade: The device ships with visionOS 26, which adds spatial widgets, improved Personas, support for more languages, a refined Jupiter environment, and enhanced Apple Intelligence features.
  • Dual Knit Band: Apple replaced the prior default strap (Solo Knit) with a “Dual Knit Band” designed for more comfort and balance. The strap features upper and lower knitted sections in one piece, embedded tungsten ribs for counterbalance, and a fit dial for fine‐tuning tension. The band comes in three sizes and retails separately for $99. It is also compatible with the original, M2-based Vision Pro units.

Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said: “With the breakthrough performance of M5, the latest Apple Vision Pro delivers faster performance, sharper details throughout the system, and even more battery life, setting a new standard for what’s possible in spatial computing.”

What Hasn’t Changed

The headset’s external appearance, sensors, display panels, battery pack, and most of its physical architecture remain the same. Apple opted to focus on internal updates and comfort improvements rather than altering the industrial design.

Availability

Preorders open beginning October 15, 2025, and units ship starting October 22, 2025. Apple is also running demos at its retail stores. The pricing stays at $3,499 for the base (256 GB) model, with higher storage tiers also available.

This refresh comes as Apple pushes deeper into spatial and immersive features. The visionOS 26 upgrade, combined with the hardware enhancements, positions Apple to compete more aggressively in mixed reality. At the same time, the unchanged price point signals that Apple sees this device as a flagship spatial computing platform, not a mass‐market gadget.