Apple lays off 60 Vision Group employees as VR development takes a back seat

Apple has laid off at least 60 employees tied to its VR development team, according to a report from AppleInsider, which cites reliable sources. The cuts reportedly affected the Apple Vision Group and similar positions. Apple has not confirmed or commented on the report.

The news comes more than a year after Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple had disbanded the Vision Products Group (VPG). At that time, Mike Rockwell, who previously led the group, was put in charge of the Siri overhaul. According to Gurman, VPG staff were split up and moved to Apple's larger hardware and software engineering organizations. He noted that Apple remained committed to visionOS and its broader spatial-computing ambitions, even as it deprioritized major new enclosed headsets in favor of other AI-powered wearables.

The latest layoffs follow an interview from two months ago, when Spatial Insider's Justin Ryan asked Apple Senior Director Steve Sinclair, who leads product marketing for visionOS, about reports that Apple had put Vision Pro "on ice" and broken up its team. Sinclair replied that spatial computing is still in its early innings, and that Apple continues to learn, invest, and improve in this area. He emphasized the company's ongoing commitment to the platform.

The reported cuts suggest that Apple is further scaling back its dedicated VR hardware efforts, even as it maintains public support for the visionOS ecosystem. The shift in priorities aligns with broader industry trends, where many tech companies are reallocating resources from VR and AR headsets toward generative AI and wearable devices. Apple's Vision Pro, launched earlier this year, has faced challenges including high price and limited developer interest, which may have contributed to the company's decision to reduce the headset's priority within its product roadmap.