Apple AR/VR Headset Potentially Delayed Until 2023 Amid Development Problems

[boss.king]

And then in 2023 it's going to be delayed to 2024. I don't see them launching this until they can put it into a glasses form-factor (or can put the gen2 in that form-factor and make an easy buck off the early adopters).

The public doesn't want to wear electronic snowboarding googles, this is the real problem Apple has to solve.

 

[nawk]

If the quality is high, then this product will be a game changer. The ONLY way to have amazing AR in a headset is do it through VR. You need to have cameras and reproduce the users environment 1:1 in VR - just like you weren't wearing a headset. Then you can effectively and realistically manipulate the environment any way you want.

Anyone who has actually looked through a MS holo lens can attest that you just can't augment reality in an effective way because you are just adding more light to a scene that is already lit. While the demo videos look neat - this is not the user's experience. A mixed VR/AR product could reproduce what you seen in other marketing videos.

 

[Freeangel1]

someone will just beat Apple to market with a better cheaper product. probably Android based.

 

[jz0309]

This is one product that I have zero interest in… and, while I don’t see the similarities to AirPower, this is not good news, if true

 

[4jasontv]

They can also install the cooling fans 🤫

They could strap two 140 mm Noctuas to the front so we all look like Owls.

 

[JPack]

96W power adapter with one and a half M1 processors. You can’t have a fan near your face due to noise and drying issues either. Pretty tough.

 

[dysamoria]

??‍♂️

Don’t care if it is abandoned. Probably better for the company and customers if they’d focus on their existing products. I’d be glad if they stop with the car BS too.

 

[diego.caraballo]

Will released together with the Apple Car ?

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

That's a bummer. *sigh*

 

[centauratlas]

I'm ok if this thing never gets released.

I agree. This design just looks like the 2006 iPhone mock-ups. Sure, someone might use this for a game in a room, but that isn't a mass market product. Perhaps if it created a virtual image in front of your eyes, that might sell, but this? ah, no

 

[MisterK]

I think Tim Cook's got cold feet. There's a lot riding on this being a huge success, mostly for Apple's homerun hitting image and the answer to "what's after the iPhone?". I just don't see VR being worthwhile for anyone for at least the next 10 years and I'm very doubtful on AR ever being there (outside a few very specialized cases). I have an Oculus Quest and almost never use it. It's a great demo and can be fun for an hour or so. I really want it to be a success. I'm a huge Apple fan and a sci-fi nerd. I'm more than happy for this to be one of the forum messages that gets highlighted when mixed reality proves to be huge. I just don't see it.

 

[dreamsayer]

Just another AirPower mat all over again. Will the headset ever get released?

Probably not. Just like the Apple car.

 

[Konigi]

I think this could be a valid thing. The metaverse industry is leaving its youth, so if Apple wants to seriously enter into the game, it needs to be launch a product that is ahead of its rivals, and not simply on par. They need to do it right, or it will never really compete (much like HomePods).

 

[t0rqx]

I’ll wait for the version without needing Goggles.

 

[Cosmosent]

I see a parallel with the 911 GT3.

Porsche doesn't sell many, but gets ALOT of Press Attention because of it !

I personally think Apple's AR/VR headset has a very small addressable market, just like the 911 GT3, but if Apple uses it smartly, they can get the same benefit !

v3 of their AR/VR headset will probably be the first that ANY chance of selling well !

Target date ? 2026 ?

 

[Morgenland]

Just. Wait.

The market potential is huge (I can spontaneously think of many everyday scenarios, as someone who still has a monitor on the table), but the glasses have technical requirements that can't quite be met technically at the moment to be really great. At least not those years.

 

[the future]

To compare this with the Air Power situation is incredibly dumb. Apple is pouring infinitely more engineering resources into this major project than ever went towards that very unimportant accessory. This thing will ship, only question is when.

Disclaimer: I personally have no interest whatsoever in buying this headset.

 

[clith]

I am surprised they aren't doing "Dev Kit" versions for WWDC 2022 that can be turned in later for real headsets, just like they did with the pre-M1 A12Z Mac Minis.

 

[mansplains]

Amazes me that anyone who has used VR would think this render is a good design. There's no top support of any kind. How would that not just slide right off your face? Is Apple going to solve the problem of the weight and balance of displays and lenses?

That's what I keep wondering every time I see this crude representation. After having the Quest 2 it's unbearable to imagine use without the top strap. Let alone the cheesy toy look (yes most AR/VR is a toy implementation now) of the AW sport bands.. fluoroelastomer wouldn't be comfortable either.

 

[Realityck]

The delay would mark a setback for a product seen as one of Apple’s famous “next big things” -- a new category that can keep sales growing and help justify the tech giant’s nearly $3 trillion market valuation.

Takes awhile to create a virtual reality simulation, to escape the real world.

 

[alpi123]

Here we go...

 

[echo44]

I think Tim Cook's got cold feet. There's a lot riding on this being a huge success, mostly for Apple's homerun hitting image and the answer to "what's after the iPhone?". I just don't see VR being worthwhile for anyone for at least the next 10 years and I'm very doubtful on AR ever being there (outside a few very specialized cases). I have an Oculus Quest and almost never use it. It's a great demo and can be fun for an hour or so. I really want it to be a success. I'm a huge Apple fan and a sci-fi nerd. I'm more than happy for this to be one of the forum messages that gets highlighted when mixed reality proves to be huge. I just don't see it.

Uh home run after the iPhone? How about the AppleWatch best selling watch in the world, How about the airPods which generate more income than many Fortune 500 companies and this product alone generates just shy of the income Tesla generates from cars sales!! I would consider those pretty big homeruns!!!

 

[Mr. Dee]

Here is use case for this. I work in IT and deploy desktops and laptops all day. Configuring them, taking them to their respective sites. The challenging part of the job is moving units from one wing to the other. We are talking about sometimes maybe 50 to hundred or more, undoing cable management, removing standing desks, boxing it up and then move it.

I spoke to my colleague and said to him, I said I don’t see us really doing this in 2040! It’s too much. IT will need to evolve the definition of the client and think what Apple is working on is really it.

We saw this with first and second generation computing (ENIAC and UNIVAC), Mainframes, Mini’s. Eventually the Apple I, IBM PC, Macintosh 128, PowerBook 100 > Newton > iPhone/iPads > Apple Watch.

But the traditional desktop PC remains too stationary. So, I think Apple’s, Microsoft’s HoloLens, Meta’s Oculus are defining the right direction for next generation desktop computing.

But in terms computing that can replace a Mac or Windows PC, this might be it. Once Apple gets it right, the rest of the industry will follow and build devices that removing all this computing ‘junk’ we still have to deal with today.

In 2040, I will just tell clients, Wing A will be under constructions, please take your Apple VR Headsets to Wing B please.

 

[Morgenland]

Uh home run after the iPhone? How about the iWatch best selling watch in the world, How about the airPods which generate more income than many Fortune 500 companies and this product alone generates just shy of the income Tesla generates from cars sales!! I would consider those pretty big homeruns!!!

Watch

Since we are not on some PC website.

 

[topdrawer]

This seems like a rumors running joke.