Apple's Much-Awaited Mixed-Reality Headset May Not Launch This Year

Apple, Inc.'s APPL much-awaited mixed reality headset, having AR/VR capabilities, has long been in the works. With Cupertino tightlipped about the product and the launch timeline, the Street is awash with speculation concerning the headset.

What Happened: Apple's MR headset will be launched in the first quarter of 2023, 9to5Mac reported, citing a report by Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu. This would mean a slight delay from the late-2022 timeline that was floating around previously.

The analyst reportedly expects Apple to sell about 1 million to 1.5 million units in the first year of the launch. The MR headset will come with an Apple processor and about 10 sensors that include cameras, the report said.

TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is fairly accurate with his Apple predictions, has suggested the MR headset will drop in late 2022 and limited quantities will be made available.

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Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman said earlier this week that the headset might not make its appearance at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, scheduled to kickstart on June 6.

Gurman expects the product to launch any time between June and the fall of 2023, which coincides with the iOS 16 cycle timeline. He based his conjecture on beta versions of iOS 16 having references to the product.

Why It's Important: Apple hasn't had any major new hardware introduction since the iPhone was launched in 2007. When Apple potentially launches the product, it would be pitted against Meta Platform, Inc.'s FB Oculus Quest 2.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has reportedly referred to the area of AR as critically important and one of the "very few profound technologies."
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said in a report that Apple's AR/VR patent quality ranks among the top technology vendors. Citing a survey, she said a majority of respondents expressed interest in buying an AR/VR device from Apple.

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