Malcolm Owen
Apple is still planning to make its mixed-reality headset the main launch of WWDC 2023, a report claims, with a probable release by the holidays.
Apple's long-rumored VR and AR headset has been dogged by delays and issues, with an appearance at the summer's WWDC potentially in doubt. In a Sunday report, it seems that Apple will go ahead with the high-profile introduction.
In Sunday's "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg, Mark Gurman writes that the headset will be "the star of the show," complete with its xrOS operating system and software development kit.
Gurman is told Apple will have a "clear story for developers" in how they will want to use it, and will spend a lot of the conference showcasing its custom App Store and tools.
As for when the headset will reach the public's hands, Gurman reasons it should be out "in time for the holidays," since it won't go on sale "for several months," giving developers time to make experiences for it.
Gurman's report goes against analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's claim that Apple wasn't "optimistic" about its headset launch in March, suggesting that an announcement at WWDC was doubtful.
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10 Comments
Ming doesn’t know what he’s talking about on this one…
It would make sense. Release the dev kit this year and get devs working with it. That way software will be ready when it’s released this fall, or next winter, or maybe fall of 24…
If true, Apple might do what they did when they announced Apple Silicon was coming soon:
Well, the hardware side obviously needs client side software so WWDC was always going to be the launchpad even if there is no finished product ready to go.
From announcement to client-side hardware deployment is anyone's guess but end of year does seem like quite a short stretch.
I'd wager there will be other intermediate devices to be announced alongside the reveal. Maybe network related.
That said, let's not forget that when ARkit got the big upgrade a few years ago, Apple's most future looking phone at the time (iPhone X) was not supported. I'm sure there will be early adopter interest but many will wait until XR has a decent platform and more importantly, content available for it.
Not sure what's up with the media reporting of both Gurman and Kuo here. It seems obvious that Apple is going to announce this goggles product with it shipping at least 6 months later. Hard to believe that this wasn't going to happen this way. Apple does this with new types of hardware products with no threat of an Osborne effect, or, they will announce products that don't matter to their bottom line 6 like the $5000 Mac desktops, $5000 displays, or a niche accessory.
They both probably know of specific parts going into the goggles, like 2" OLED displays, goggle shaped ribbon cables, lens parts, who knows what else. They are just waiting on one their suppliers get the "go" order for mass production. When that happens, 3 to 4 months later, the product can be assembled, with 1 to 2 months after that for shipping to customers. There's surely trial production and assembly for all the risky parts. So, the trick is figuring out what is trial production for this or that part, or it's the real deal. So lots of guessing from Kuo and Gurman on "go" time.
Why would Apple wait for WWDC in June instead of doing it in March? Or July? Or September? There probably is a sense (a set of metrics) within Apple for when the product can ship to end customers. They are just waiting on when the critical milestones for shipping within 6 months is reached. Haven't gotten their yet.