Apple’s mixed-reality headset ‘delayed to late 2023’
Apple’s mixed reality headset, arguably its most highly anticipated new product launch, has been delayed again. Respected industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted on Sunday that it may have been pushed back from the second quarter of 2023 to the second half of that year.
In a Twitter thread largely focused on the impact of the delay on supplier companies, Kuo cites unspecified “software issues” as the reason for the change. One result, he says, is that fewer than 500,000 units will be shipped in 2023, down from the previous estimate of between 800,000 and 1.2 million.
However, Kuo notes that it “is yet to be determined” whether the Announcement of the headset will move. It was thought that if Apple made an announcement about the new product in January, it would happen at a special event, the first January event since Apple announced the iPad in January 2010.
It’s still possible that Apple would still hold an event for this purpose in January 2023, although it would mean an even bigger gap between announcement and shipping – and Apple has been burned before when they announced products too early.
The device, referred to as a “mixed-reality” headset because it is believed to combine elements of virtual and augmented reality, has been a constant source of both exciting rumors and disappointing delays since it first appeared on the market more than a decade ago. came up. (In 2008, Apple filed a patent for a headset with a slot for an iPhone or iPod, which gives an idea of how much the concept has evolved.) At one point, it was confidently predicted that an Apple headset would be released by 2020. launched, so readers would be forgiven for being skeptical of the 2023 theory. Of course, it’s questionable whether it’s fair to mention these delays, as Apple has never confirmed a launch schedule.
Apple’s reality plans have been in the spotlight recently, with reports that the company has come up with an all-new operating system called xrOS – likely to form the basis of an entirely new ecosystem of products – for the device. Along with the headset, experts expect Apple to launch a smart ring, as part of a larger “metaverse” of mixed-reality products.
