- Apple has just upgraded Vision Pro for the first time
- It’s not a redesign but the m5 chip is now under the hood
- There is also a new double knitted ribbon that looks much more comfortable
While not a redesign, Apple The Vision Pro’s hardware is updating for the first time. The $ 3500 spatial computer – Apple’s first push in virtual and augmented reality – hardware – was launched in the US in February 2024, about 19 months ago, with a whole series of specifications, but most critical, an M2 chip under the hood.
The now customized Apple Vision Pro (M5) switches M2 to the brand new M5 chip with a 10-core CPU and a next-gene 10-core GPU. It will undoubtedly improve performance in Visionos 26 and across countless apps, but Apple also says it will allow screens to give 10% more pixels and flex up to a 120Hz update rate for a clearer overview of your surroundings – all when the headset is on, of course.
Apple also aims to improve comfort and this improvement can be purchased as an accessory if you have already invested in a Vision Pro.
The Cupertino-based tech giant debuts ‘Dual Knit Band’ to the headset, which “delivers an even more comfortable fit for users”, according to Apple. It is a bit of a cross between the two existing apple-made ribbon solo and double loop-with a strap that goes on top of your head and a back, with the latter with a counterbalance element to improve the overall fit.
If you have considered a Vision Pro, the promise of live, immersive NBA games or this M5 upgrade may now have sold you. Apple is already taking orders about the upgraded headset and it will start to arrive at customers on October 22, 2025. It still starts at $ 3,499 in the US, £ 3,199 in the UK and AU $ 5,999 in Australia. But let’s unpack these changes a little more.
With the M5 chip under the cap, Apple calls improved performance everywhere as well as improvements with AI tasks.
Like the M5 chip arriving at the iPad Pro M5 or 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro, it’s a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU and 16-core neural engine, all located on a 3-nanometer chip inside Vision Pro. It should speed up things in Visionos 26, with Apple specifically noting faster load times for widgets and applications as well as more responsive web browsing.
Even more exciting for the potential in games and other new immersive experiences is support for hardware-accelerated radiation pording thanks to the next generation GPU. As we have seen with other devices that offer this, it gives developers and designers more control and handles for more detailed graphics, including much more realistic shadows and lighting in environments.
It will be exciting to see how third parties use this for immersive environments on Vision Pro, but also for games on the platform as a whole – maybe even if you expand your Mac’s screen with a virtual screen. I could also see marvel expands on the stream What if? Immersive experience or debut of new ones.
AI-driven experiences at Vision Pro, such as creating your persona-as got a night-and-day, great improvement with Visiono’s 26- and conversion of photos into spatial scenes will be up to 50% faster with the 16-core neural engine. It also leads to up to 2x faster performance to third -party apps.
While the original vision prote out with a 100Hz update speed, this upgraded model can reach up to 120Hz for reduced motion blade and clearer visuals when you see your environment in transparent or transparency states.
It is also a result of the micro-oiled screens now able to reproduce 10% more pixels. We will have to test this to see how great an improvement it is, as the review was already leagues in front of other competing headsets like Meta Quest 3.
The M5 chip still works in tandem with the R1 chip, which is not updated here. It will continue to support the five sensors, six microphones and twelve cameras to process these feeds and input quickly and translate all that within 12 milliseconds to create your view of the world around you.
Apple also improves the life of the battery to 2.5 hours for daily use and three hours for video playback – it’s a leap of 30 minutes for both. It is worth noting that there is no change of the battery pack – it is still the same with the same plug for Vision Pro. And for longer sessions, connect the battery pack to power, which may actually be another battery pack.
So while it is not a redesign or a more affordable price point, the timing of the upgrade here makes a lot of sense.
The M2 chip ages quite nicely and still delivers quick performance in the current Vision Pro, but an update to the M5 probably adds a little more of the ceiling height to the headset and speeds up things with new competition that is likely to arrive on the horizon. Samsung has established a formal detection date on October 21, 2025 for his project Moohan Android XR headset, similar to Vision Pro.
For people with a vision pro already or those who have considered it, the double knitband could solve a particular pain point if you have been worried about comfort. Also, Apple is not just limiting to the M5 version of Vision Pro; It is a standard accessory that works with both generations of the headset.
It’s on order now for $ 99 in the US, £ 99 in the UK and AU $ 169 in Australia. I am eager to test it out and see what it does in a longer stretch of Vision Pro.
Visiono’s 26 brought some pretty big upgrades to the headset that should speed up things, and more immersive content is on the horizon, including the long-awaited arrival of live sports in Apple-immersive format. It was recently confirmed that Select Los Angeles Lakers NBA games will be broadcast live in Apple Immersive in 2026.
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