Apple lays off hundreds of engineers after a rare product flop - and just weeks before the launch of the newest iPhone models

daily mail ^

[algore]

Apple is laying off 147 employees across its Silicon Valley offices – reportedly mostly software engineers working on augmented reality products – a fresh blow to the company's struggling virtual reality ambitions.

The cuts come just weeks before Apple is expected to unveil its next generation of iPhones, including the highly anticipated iPhone 18 lineup and its first foldable iPhone.

The Vision Pro goggles have struggled to attract mainstream consumers, thanks to its high price tag, hefty weight and limited selection of apps and experiences, all of which make it a difficult sell.

The headset's launch in San Francisco in February 2024 provided an early glimpse of the problem, with reports suggesting Apple employees and media representatives appeared to outnumber customers at the company's flagship store.

Apple later attempted to breathe new life into the product with an updated M5 Vision Pro, but the refresh has failed to generate the kind of demand the company had hoped for. According to a WARN filing released Tuesday, 147 employees across three Apple offices in the Silicon Valley area are set to lose their jobs.

The layoffs include 79 workers at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, along with 40 employees at one Sunnyvale office and another 28 at a second Sunnyvale location.

Most of those being cut are software engineers, while the Sunnyvale offices have been particularly affected by layoffs involving workers developing augmented and virtual reality products.

The job losses are scheduled to begin October 19.

The cuts are the latest sign that Apple's expensive push into so-called spatial computing, the technology behind virtual reality goggles, has struggled to gain traction since the company launched the Vision Pro in 2024.

Priced at a staggering $3,499, the headset was unveiled with enormous fanfare as Apple's biggest new product category in years.

---

TOPICS: Heated Discussion
KEYWORDS:

[algore]

There is temporary pushback to things like this, Meta Raybans etc.

all that will go away once you can get contacts.

I wont use them, but I will see the single use ones become commonplace before I die

[crusty old prospector]

They would give me vertigo and pukeitis.

[Libloather]

And Starbucks just went on strike. I call that a bad week.

Starbucks union calls for boycott as contract negotiations drag

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/starbucks/starbucks-union-calls-for-boycott-as-contract-negotiations-drag/

[Steely Tom]

What does the new iPhone cost? $8500? Something like that?

I have an iPhone 10. Works great.

[Steely Tom]

Oh. I should have read to the last line. $3.6K. Almost as much as my first new car. Yeah, that’ll happen.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Toys for office workers.

A normal person can buy a good Motorola phone for $150 on Amazon. Lot's of $100 phones too.

[Chgogal]

“ I have an iPhone 10. Works great.”

Ditto.

[Chgogal]

https://www.apple.com/iphone/

New iPhones range in cost from $1,089 to $599. My iPhone X works fine.

[Steely Tom]

“Priced at a staggering $3,499, the headset was unveiled with enormous fanfare as Apple’s biggest new product category in years.”

[Repeal The 17th]

“...the highly anticipated iPhone 18...”
-
I am still using my iPhone SE,
and I am not anticipating anything.

[srmanuel]

This maybe heresy but IMO the long term trend for Apple is negative and similar to when Steve Jobs was forced out

Apple is basically a one product company the IPhone has carried them for years and their lack of product innovation will ultimately be their downfall

Tim Cook did a great job of milking the IPhone for everything it’s worth, although they have other products that are profitable, nothing compares to the IPhone and one day the people who can’t wait for the newest one to be released will wonder what the huge price actually buys them, when that happens Apple will tank

[srmanuel]

I just looked up the numbers slightly over 50% of Apple’s revenue come from the sale of the IPhone, profit percentage I couldn’t find but my guess is it’s great let than the revenue percentage, any significant downturn of IPhone sales will take their stock

[jacknhoo]

147 is not hundreds.

[Bigg Red]

I am no math whiz, but I am pretty sure 147 is not “hundreds.”

[neverevergiveup]

The average per visit spending at Starbucks is just under $10. I don’t know what Starbucks’ profit is per visit, but if their prices go up much more I don’t know how people can justify spending that much for coffee.

[neverevergiveup]

Sorry. Wrong thread!

[Dalberg-Acton]

I’ve never owned an Apple product and I don’t feel like I’ve missed much.