Apple fans eagerly anticipating its rumored mixed reality headset will have to wait a little longer.
According to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the expected launch has been moved back from March or April to June. Gurman’s sources, who asked not to be identified, now say Apple’s XR headset will be unveiled at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) which is held annually in June.
The timeline of the launch has been stretching ever since early rumors of the project in 2017. Initially, the headset was expected to come out in 2019, but was pushed back to 2000, then 2021, then 2022. By January of 2023, Apple’s leaked plan was to announce the XR headset at a special consumer-targeted event, said Gurman. Apple would then announce more details to third party developers at WWDC in June. Now, all aspects of the headset announcement are expected at WWDC and will go on sale later this year. This lines up with Apple expert Ming Chi-Kuo’s earlier prediction that the headsets wouldn’t launch until the second half of 2023 because of shipping delays.
While shipping delays might also be a factor, Gurman believes the spring launch was postponed because “product testing showed that both hardware and software issues still needed to be ironed out.” Hardware and software roadblocks are largely the reason why Apple’s XR headset has been delayed in the past.
The ambitious project is rumored to have a new operating system (possibly called xrOS), an M2 chip, 4K virtual reality displays, and over a dozen cameras for its augmented reality features. It is also rumored to have an interface where users look at apps and pinch their fingers to launch them, instead of using hand controls — a major challenge to get right but one that would make Apple’s headset far more advanced than Meta’s Quest lineup.
If Apple gets it right, the XR headset might be worth the wait — as long as your willing to pay its rumored $3,000 price.
