- Apple just updated Vision Pro for the first time
- It’s not a redesign, but the M5 chip is now under the hood
- There’s also a new dual-point band, which looks much more comfortable.
While it’s not a redesign, Apple is updating the Vision Pro’s hardware for the first time. The $3,500 Spatial Computer, Apple’s first foray into virtual and augmented reality hardware, launched in the United States in February 2024, about 19 months ago, with a host of specs, but most importantly, an M2 chip under the hood.
The now aptly named Apple Vision Pro (M5) swaps the M2 for the new M5 chip with a 10-core CPU and next-generation 10-core GPU. This will undoubtedly improve performance in visionOS 26 and countless apps, but Apple also says it will allow displays to render 10% more pixels and flex up to a 120Hz refresh rate for a clearer view of your surroundings – all when the headphones are on, of course.
Apple is also aiming to improve comfort, and this improvement can be purchased as an accessory if you’ve already invested in a Vision Pro.
The Cupertino-based tech giant introduces the ‘Dual Knit Band’ for the headphones, which “offers an even more comfortable fit for users,” according to Apple. It’s something of a cross between the two existing bands made by Apple, the Solo Knit and Dual Loop, with one strap going on top of your head and another on the back, with the latter featuring a counterweight element that should improve the overall fit.
If you’ve been considering a Vision Pro, the promise of live, immersive NBA games or this upgrade to the M5 may have already won you over. Apple is now accepting orders for the updated headphones and they will begin arriving to customers on October 22, 2025. They still start at $3,499 in the US, £3,199 in the UK, and AU$5,999 in Australia. But let’s analyze these changes a little more.
With the M5 chip under the hood, Apple is highlighting improved performance across the board, as well as improvements in artificial intelligence tasks.
Like the M5 chip coming to the M5 iPad Pro or 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro, it’s a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine, all housed on a 3-nanometer chip inside the Vision Pro. That should speed things up in visionOS 26, and Apple specifically noted faster loading times for widgets and applications, as well as more responsive web browsing.
Even more exciting for the potential for gaming and other new immersive experiences is support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing thanks to the next-generation GPU. As we’ve seen with other devices that offer this, it gives developers and designers more control and levers for more detailed graphics, including shadows and lighting in the much more realistic environments.
It’ll be exciting to see how third parties use this for immersive environments on the Vision Pro, but also for gaming on the platform in general, perhaps even if you’re expanding your Mac’s screen with a virtual display. I could also see Marvel expanding into the present. And if? immersive experience or debut new ones.
AI-powered experiences in Vision Pro, like setting up your Persona (which got a major day and night improvement with visionOS 26) and turning photos into spatial scenes, will be up to 50% faster with the 16-core Neural Engine. This also leads to up to 2x faster performance for third-party apps.
While the original Vision Pro hit a maximum refresh rate of 100Hz, this updated model can reach up to 120Hz to reduce motion blur and get clearer images when viewing your surroundings in transfer or transparency modes.
It is also a result of micro-OLED displays now being able to represent 10% more pixels. However, we’ll have to test this to see how big of an improvement it is, as the step was already well ahead of other competing headsets like the Meta Quest 3.
The M5 chip will continue to work in conjunction with the R1 chip, which is not updated here. It will continue to support five sensors, six microphones, and twelve cameras to process those streams and inputs quickly, translating all of that in 12 milliseconds to create your view of the world around you.
Apple is also improving battery life to 2.5 hours for daily use and three hours for video playback, which is a 30-minute jump for both. It’s worth noting that there are no changes to the battery pack – it’s still the same, with the same connector to the Vision Pro. And for longer sessions, you’ll need to plug the battery into power, which could actually be another battery.
So while this isn’t a redesign or a more affordable price, the timing of the update here makes a lot of sense.
The M2 chip is aging quite well and still offers fast performance in the current Vision Pro, but an upgrade to the M5 will likely provide a little more headphone space and speed things up, and new competition is likely on the horizon. Samsung has set a formal reveal date of October 21, 2025 for its Project Moohan Android XR headphones, which look quite similar to the Vision Pro.
For people who already have a Vision Pro, or those who have been considering it, the Dual Knit Band could solve a particular problem if they are concerned about comfort. Apple doesn’t limit that to just the M5 version of the Vision Pro either; It is a standard accessory that works with both generations of headphones.
It can now be ordered for $99 in the US, £99 in the UK and AU$169 in Australia. I’m looking forward to trying it out and seeing what it does over longer periods with the Vision Pro on.
visionOS 26 brought some pretty major updates to the headset, which should speed things up, and there’s more immersive content on the horizon, including the long-awaited arrival of live sports in the Apple Immersive format. It was recently confirmed that some Los Angeles Lakers NBA games will be streamed live on Apple Immersive by 2026.
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