Apple has reportedly laid off an entire team dedicated to VR development, with at least 60 employees affected, according to Apple Insider. The layoffs target the Apple Vision Group and similar positions, though Apple has not confirmed or commented on the report. This follows earlier reporting by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman that Apple had broken up the Vision Products Group, redistributing staff across broader hardware and software engineering teams.

Despite these changes, Apple maintains commitment to vision OS and spatial computing, as noted by Senior Director Steve Sinclair, who emphasized ongoing investment in the platform. Sinclair highlighted updates like vision OS 27 and growing enterprise and medical use cases as evidence of continued dedication. The layoffs coincide with Apple's reported shift in priorities toward AI-powered smart glasses, expected to launch in 2027 with features like cameras, Siri, and Visual Intelligence.

This strategic pivot moves away from major new enclosed headsets toward other AI wearables. The Vision Pro received a hardware upgrade with the M5 chip last October, improving performance while maintaining its $3,499 price point, later raised to $3,699 due to memory costs.