A 2008 Apple patent unearthed by Macworld’s Dan Moren reveals a striking resemblance to the Vision Pro headset, suggesting Apple’s long-term vision for this technology. The patent, discovered on the Internet Archive, showcases a diagram remarkably similar to the Vision Pro’s display panel. The device described in the patent is a wearable display with intelligent sensors designed to “simulate the experience of being in a virtual environment,” including head and eye tracking capabilities. While the underlying technology envisioned in 2008 likely differs significantly from the current Vision Pro, the similarity in design is remarkable.
An illustration from a 2008 Apple patent depicts a head-mounted display resembling the Vision Pro.
It’s common practice for tech giants like Apple to file numerous patents, many of which never see the light of day. In 2008, this particular patent might have seemed like a distant dream. However, long-term development projects are not uncommon in the tech industry. Meta’s “Project Orion,” for example, has been in development for a decade and is still years away from consumer release.
The existence of this patent doesn’t definitively prove Apple was actively developing the Vision Pro in 2008. It could have been a conceptual exploration, patented to secure potential future applications. Even if Apple had considered pursuing the device then, the technological limitations regarding size, weight, and cost would have been significant obstacles.
Looking forward, rumors circulate about both a second-generation Vision Pro and a more affordable version of the current model. While the specific details of Apple’s current development efforts remain unknown, consumer demand clearly points towards improvements in weight and price for future iterations.
