Apple’s ambitious mixed reality headset may get delayed until next year, report says
Apple is allegedly planning to delay its mixed reality (MR) headset, with the launch now expected to happen in 2023. This is what a report from analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities suggests. The reason for the pushback isn’t now as of now, but it could be related to the development issues.
In a report seen 9to5 Mac, Pu only mentions that Apple’s headset may face delays, without getting into the reason for the delayed launch. That being said, the analyst believes that the headset could become popular in the first year, with Apple anticipating selling between 1 million and 1.5 million units. That’s a high number of a headset that reportedly going to cost over $2000, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
Gurman was the first one to report that Apple’s headset could be delayed until 2023 amind development challenges. The Cupertino tech giant originally set out a target to launch the headset in 2021 and ship it this year. But looks like the headset is not ready for release, at least for now, if we asked to go these unconfirmed reports.
Pu believes one of the big differentiators of Apple’s mixed reality headset will be the custom in-house chip that the company plans to use. The device will reportedly use as many as 10 sensors sourced from a number of vendors, including Sony.
Apple’s headset has been facing delays for months. Codenamed “T288”, the headset will use its own display and come with a dedicated processor. It will run on a new operating system called “rOS” and will be based on exing iOS. The headset likely comes with the App Store, meaning users will be able to download apps just like they do on their iPhones and iPads.
Although Apple has never confirmed it is working on a headset, multiple news outlets believe the company needs to compete with Meta on the whole metaverse thing. The debut of the headset at Apple’s upcoming developer conference in June is unlikely to happen but according to Gurman, the company could show off the reality OS to developers.
