The tail end of last year saw a few details being reported on the Apple mixed reality headset. This ranges from a new operating system dubbed xrOS, to a prediction by industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that the headset will be released in the second half of 2023. Now, Bloomberg reports that the headset will be first announced in spring, before actual availability in fall.
Mark Gurman reports that Apple aims to unveil the MR headset ahead of its WWDC event in June, likely with the name Reality Pro. Gurman also says that the iPhone maker has shared the headset with “a small number of high-profile software developers for testing”. Then when June rolls around, the company would “get developers up to speed on its software features”. And finally, in the relatively vague window of fall, which is between late September and late December, the device will finally be launched.
Interestingly, the report claims that Apple is pushing its headset at the cost of its other products. More specifically, the company is pulling in resources from other hardware and software engineering departments, which “hampered other projects, some of which were already suffering from their own delays and budget cuts”.
This results in most of the other products being released this year being small spec bumps, with nothing truly new to show off. Even on the software side of things, this year’s iOS and iPadOS updates “may have fewer major changes than originally planned”. This also reportedly extends to macOS 14, which has a codename of Sunburst.
The one exception to all the above may be the hardware for the iPhones of the year. Gurman claims that they will all come with the Dynamic Island, as well as USB-C. As for the more expensive Pro models, these will also come with a titanium frame, as well as haptic volume buttons.
(Source: Bloomberg)
