The M5 Vision Pro Is Now on Sale — With No Trade-Ins
Customer in Apple Store wearing M5 Vision Pro with Dual Knit band [Apple]
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Following its unveiling last week, Apple’s new M5-powered Vision Pro is now available to purchase in Apple retail stores around the world — provided you’re willing to shell out at least $3,500.
Beyond the chip, little else has changed in the new model. It’s still the same bulky headset, weighing well over a pound, and it shares all the same sensors, displays, and features as its predecessor.
If you found the original uncomfortable to wear, the second-generation model won’t be much different; Apple has added a new Dual Knit Band to distribute the weight in a more comfortable way, but you’re still strapping over a pound and a half of glass and metal to your head. The new band is also sold separately for $99, giving M2 Vision Pro owners a more affordable path to improving comfort.
This means the only real upgrade in the new Vision Pro is what’s packed inside: a new M5 chip is a serious jump from the M2 in the original model, which was already an aging piece of silicon when it went on sale in February 2024. The M5 doesn’t just deliver a massive leap in performance; it also promises to render 10 percent more pixels on the same micro-OLED displays and boost the maximum refresh rate to 120 Hz.
If you’ve been on the fence about dropping a substantial amount of cash on Apple’s headset, the M5 Vision Pro might not be a bad time to jump in, as long as you remember that a faster chip won’t inherently make up for the headset’s other shortcomings, like weight and relative dearth of content.
The M5 upgrade might encourage more developers to create visionOS apps — but we’ll have to wait and see. We’re not holding our breath, though, as it’s the headset’s limited audience — not the M2’s performance — that’s always been the real barrier.
Upgrading to the M5 Vision Pro? Read the Fine Print
Although the M5 chip is a huge jump over the M2, it’s probably not worth upgrading if you already own the original. Over the weekend, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in his Power On newsletter that the speedier chip isn’t likely to make a difference for common tasks like watching video or web browsing. Gurman hasn’t tried the new model yet, but he has been using the original since it launched, and has never found the M2 chip to be a problem.
Apple’s product releases are rarely intended to entice owners to upgrade from recent models — the new M5 MacBook Pro is being targeted at Intel and M1 users, and the M5 iPad Pro is clearly for those who skipped last year’s M4 version. The Vision Pro may seem like a bigger deal because of the new chip, but it’s really just another annual refresh.
In this case, Apple is making it even clearer that it doesn’t expect anyone to upgrade from the M2 Vision Pro to the M5 model. Although I’m sure Apple is always happy to take your money if you have some to burn, it’s offering no incentives whatsoever to entice you — you’ll be paying full price for the M5 Vision Pro, since Apple isn’t accepting trade-ins of the original.
While there were hints of it last week, Apple removed all doubt in today’s press release, which mentions Apple Trade In for the Mac or iPad, with a footnote that “Apple Vision Pro is not eligible for trade-in.”
Resell and Renew
That means owners of the original Vision Pro who want to upgrade to the latest model will either have to eat the full cost or find a potential buyer for the M2 model on the secondary market. On the upside, that also opens the door to more budget-conscious buyers scoring an M2 Vision Pro at a better price, as long as they’re willing to live with the fact that they’ll be buying something that’s been strapped to someone else’s face.
Thankfully, that’s not as bad as it sounds. Apple sells nearly all the Vision Pro accouterments on their own, so in addition to being able to get the new Dual Knit Band for the M2 model, you can also buy a new Light Seal, Light Seal Cushion, and even ZEISS Optical Inserts if you need vision correction.
In fact, you’ll probably need to buy at least some of these anyway, since there are over a dozen sizes of Light Seal and four sizes of Light Seal Cushion to choose from, so it’s unlikely someone else’s selections will fit your face. The catch is that these accessories don’t come cheap, so if you’re shopping for a used Vision Pro, budget an extra $200–$300 for a proper fit — more if you also want the newer headband or require ZEISS Optical Inserts. Still, for those who find the Vision Pro too rich for their blood, the secondary market could soon be the most affordable gateway into Apple’s mixed-reality world.
