Attendees wait for the beginning of the Apple World Wide Developers Conference
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Apple‘s long-awaited mixed reality headset could possibly be announced in spring on the earliest, top Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said on Twitter.
Ming-Chi Kuo, an Apple analyst at TF International, had initially predicted in June that Apple would announce a mixed reality headset by the tip of January. But on Thursday, the widely respected analyst said he believes Apple will postpone “mass shipment” of any product to the second or third quarter of 2023, citing a mix of mechanical and software issues.
Kuo anticipates an announcement occurring in a “spring media event or WWDC based on current development progress.” WWDC is Apple’s annual developer conference, typically held in June.
At any time when it arrives, the product would create immediate competition for Meta, formerly Facebook, which is targeted on constructing a digital world called the metaverse and sells its own Meta-branded virtual reality headsets.
Apple’s headset is predicted to cost between $2,000 and $3,000 and can have greater than 10 cameras on the outside and interior of the device, based on Bloomberg. The mixed reality device will run on an operating system called xrOS, with mixed reality adaptations of Apple’s Messages, FaceTime and Maps apps, based on Bloomberg.
An announcement during WWDC is sensible if the corporate wants to indicate off the headset with the newest software tools that developers will use to construct apps for it. WWDC is where Apple unveils the annual software updates and a few recent features for iPhones, iPads, Macs, the Apple Watch and more, and it has breakout sessions where developers can learn concerning the latest ways to integrate their apps into Apple’s hardware.
Kuo has broken scoops on Apple product releases before, including news on the dimensions and design of the iPhone X in 2016 before the product launched. The Apple analyst also predicted the controversial removal of the headphone jack within the iPhone 7 series.
Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.