In a March research note for TF International Securities, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple plans to release its long-rumored mixed reality headset “in mid-2022,” followed by augmented reality glasses by 2025. Now, in a new note today obtained by MacRumors, the highly-respected analyst reiterates that Apple plans to unveil its mixed reality headset in 2022.
According to one report, the headset will feature more than a dozen cameras for tracking hand movements and two 8K displays equipped with eye-tracking technology.
It’s important to note that Apple’s mixed reality headset is not its more long-rumored AR glasses, being dubbed Apple Glasses which is set to launch in 2025.
Last month, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman said that Apple is aiming to announce a mixed-reality headset at an in-person event in the “next several months” …Bloomberg had previously indicated that Apple’s first mixed reality headset will be a high-end, pricey, and “niche” device aimed primarily at developers.
MacDailyNews Take: In February, The Information reported that the Apple headset would display video of the real world to people wearing it with a price point around $3,000 — making the product an enterprise-focused offering, not for the consumer market.
If priced at $3,000 vs. $1,000, we expect Apple’s headset will, in part, exist as a means for developers to build the next killer AR apps for true, light, powerful Apple smartglasses.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
The last think America needs is a more mixed-up reality.
🙁
Joe doesn’t need a headset; he needs AirTags. He’s already living in a mixed-reality.
Apple’s first foray into scuba diving. Multi-colored flippers to be announced at WWDC.
Is it just me or does this sound so unlike Apple? I thought they were in the business of releasing finely tuned, polished products for consumers?
Let’s go out on a limb. Macs aren’t usually referred to with the prefix “Apple” because Macs are their own thing. AirPods too. So let’s call these new goggles the “Gala” as another kind of apple.
In this case the $2799 goggles would be the “Gala Pro,” which anyone could buy come September and Developers could receive immediately.
The $999 goggles would be the “Gala” not pro, sold in a year with fewer features.
In three years the “Gala Mini” come out which are more like real glasses.
Actually no. Apple like many companies takes an iteration or three to get a product right. Look how long it took them to deliver a decent TV remote. Some products (Trashcan), BigAss Schiller didn’t even try to promptly correct, accelerating the loss of professional users from the Mac platform.
Cook doesn’t care, Apple is pushing consumer subscriptions hard. Reinforcing the monopoly app store is everything. Or accessories (Airtags) that drive iPhone sales.
So what good does a goggle do for Apple? It’s not like it can be supported by thin sealed Apple ultraportables. VR graphics processing needs are multiple times what Apple’s newest unified chips can accomplish. So whatever goggles might come out, Apple will have to rely on external processing with an umbilical, or a heavy headset with lots of hot GPUs and batteries, or they will have to deliver a traditional thin sealed Apple toy good only for crude games. In 3 or 4 generations maybe goggles would be useful in real world applications. I don’t see it happening next year.
If Apple does push forward with a goggle gaming platform for kids, well that is possible. Remember to budget for lots of adapters, cables, colorful Hermès leather Pieces Of Flair, and so on.
The average joe cannot even figure out how to properly drive a vehicle….and now they are going to stumbling around with this crap on their face?
Average Joe has the Secret Service drive him around, so the public doesn’t see him stumble (or hear him mumble).
This fantasy product better have some compelling features before I put on some Microsoftian kludge on my forehead. A compelling feature is to not make me sick. Another would be its lightness; If it’s not as light as a feather, it’s a no-go for me.
With this device, you become the dongle.