Apple's Mixed-Reality Headset Now Said to Be in 'Final Sprint' and 'Delivery Stage' Ahead of WWDC

[robbietop]

They might want to avoid the term "sprint", given it will trip right out the gates.

My guess is 4-5 million sold in a year, which in a market as big as the iPhone and Android is a disaster. Apple Watch did minimum 15 million first year, but that was 2015. iPad sold the same or more as AW in its first year and outgrew Mac sales within 80 days, but that was 2010. Those were times when iPhone market share and size was not even half of today.

If they tout this as a "revolutionary product", the responses from pundits are gonna be vicious.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Incorrect interpretation of the word sprint. Sprint is a term used to describe blocks of work in software/product development. So, it means final block of work underway.

I know what it means. I was simply playing on the word to make my point.

 

[MrHatken]

I'm guessing AR/VR will be the end of Apple's dominance.
AI is where it's going to be at from now on.
Even Facebook's dropping Metaverse.
Did Apple get the memo?

 

[decimortis]

I have an Oculus Quest 2 that I use with my kids and some of the games that use hand gestures instead of the controllers are scarily accurate with the hand movement detection. I can only imagine how much better that will be when Apple takes a crack at it.

 

[foobarbaz]

My guess is 4-5 million sold in a year, which in a market as big as the iPhone and Android is a disaster. Apple Watch did minimum 15 million first year, but that was 2015. iPad sold the same or more as AW in its first year and outgrew Mac sales within 80 days, but that was 2010.

Don't forget how expensive this will be …
4-5 millions at $3000 would already be more revenue than 15 million Apple Watches. The market is obviously nowhere as big as smartphones that cost less than a third.

 

[cdsapplefan]

Six more weeks and this thing is finally revealed to the world 🌍 at WWDC 🕶️ 😎

 

[vertsix]

I am whelmed.

 

[kfireven]

2007 BlackBerry people: "Who needs a touch screen? Physical keyboard is the best"
2023 MacRumors people: "Who needs a holographic interface? Touch screen is the best"

 

[D-a-a-n]

I wouldn't latch too strongly on the rumored $3K price. That's just a speculative number tossed out by a tech journalist with an imperfect track record.

Many people love to cling to that number as it's an easy entry point into giving Apple a good bash and a reason to call it a flop. Even though it's based on essentially nothing.

Won't be too far off though. This will contain a powerful processor/gpu, advanced lenses, battery, screens, charging stand, ton of sensors. I mean, an average iPhone is over 1K...

 

[riverfreak]

They might want to avoid the term "sprint", given it will trip right out the gates.

My guess is 4-5 million sold in a year, which in a market as big as the iPhone and Android is a disaster. Apple Watch did minimum 15 million first year, but that was 2015. iPad sold the same or more as AW in its first year and outgrew Mac sales within 80 days, but that was 2010. Those were times when iPhone market share and size was not even half of today.

If they tout this as a "revolutionary product", the responses from pundits are gonna be vicious.

Let’s say the rumored price point is true. And let’s guess a BOM of $2000, because why not, these are all guesses.

At your low sales guestimate of 4 million, that’s $4B in profit.

Hardly a trip.

 

[oneMadRssn]

The fundamental flaw in these headsets is that it blocks off vision. Nobody wants to have their vision blocked off.

No the fundamental flaw in these headsets is that they are the classic case of a solution in search of a problem. They're nifty toys and fun for some games, and maybe improve some very niche workflows, but in terms of mass appeal there's no there there.

 

[riverfreak]

MacRumors needs to send Juli and Dan over to Chengdu STAT to infiltrate the GIS factory.*

I want to see grainy images taken with a massive telephoto lens through a dirty windshield of crates of materials entering and leaving the facility. There are too many rumors from people making a few calls from their desk to suss out the supply chain. We need hard, on-the-ground reporting.

* business class

 

[orbital~debris]

Article Link: Apple's Mixed-Reality Headset Now Said to Be in 'Final Sprint' and 'Delivery Stage' Ahead of WWDC

It would certainly be a "turn-up for the books" if this product was 'accidentally' delivered a few days early to 'one lucky customer'. 😇

 

[Aston441]

A new render 😮

 

[orbital~debris]

This is gonna crush their stock. The fundamental flaw in these headsets is that it blocks off vision. Nobody wants to have their vision blocked off.

I think that's still up for debate – it will all depend if the reality offered inside the product is better than the reality offered outside the product. Arguably dystopian, of course, but it's where a large part of humanity is likely headed (unless the Holodeck arrives first).

 

[Aston441]

Would you really be surprised? This is from a company that is a leader in industrial design, and working at the highest end pricepoint in the spectrum, using in house silicon designed for low power/heat, having access to existing in-house software platforms for AR. If anyone can design something good looking in this space, it is Apple. Add to that the idea that they are going to split off the battery pack, that means they can build something very unique, at least until the other companies copy it.

Instead of a wired battery pack it would make a lot more sense to transmit the power from the belt pack with microwave beam, like regular wireless extension cords, just with lower voltage.

 

[7149041]

why production needs to sprint

"Sprint" is a technical term in project management, it doesn't mean "rush", it means a specific time period for a specific set of tasks.

Edit I see someone already pointed it out.

 

[Apple_Robert]

"Sprint" is a technical term in project management, it doesn't mean "rush", it means a specific time period for a specific set of tasks.

Edit I see someone already pointed it out.

I know what means. I was simply playing on the word to make my point.

 

[MuppetGate]

I wouldn't latch too strongly on the rumored $3K price. That's just a speculative number tossed out by a tech journalist with an imperfect track record.

“Imperfect” doesn’t begin to cover it.

 

[haleyp]

Quit playin games, apple. I'm not interested in games. I want VR to replace multiple monitors so I can work from the recliner.

 

[Blackstick]

Some 8 years after the Apple Watch has been out, my very-non-geek, psychologist wife adores her iPhone/iPad, but has yet to see a need in her life for the watch. She's hardly alone there.

This will be like that, only with far less adoption than the watch. Solving a problem that doesn't need solving.

At $3000 this would only be a Gruber-Arment-Brownlee rich-Apple-fanboy toy. They gotta get the price right to be competitive, and the technology doesn't presently allow for that.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

This will definitely come with some sort of xxx-gate. Vision/Blur Gate?

Wallet-emptying gate.

Dramatic, overnight flip-flop of fan sentiment gate.

 

[deebinem]

Nobody wants to have their vision blocked off.

You didn’t have to scrape away all these lanternfly nests with larvae in them off the overhang this morning 🤢 Take my eyes!!

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Instead of a wired battery pack it would make a lot more sense to transmit the power from the belt pack with microwave beam, like regular wireless extension cords, just with lower voltage.

Try to sell that to the public: "with this we are going to continuously shoot microwaves at your brain." Seems like a tough sell no matter how much assurance comes with it.

I do get your point of dreaming of a wireless option AND not adding the weight of the battery to the noggins though.

The fan base just made passionate arguments for inferior quality bluetooth over wired buds/headphones a few years ago by ridiculing the "old fashioned" wire. Now here's a brand new kind of product that is rumored to require one.

However, no problem: there is a long history of Apple fans arguing for and against things based on when Apple has a foot in conflicting worlds (lightning in phones vs. USB C in pretty much all other Apple offerings, notch vs. dynamic island vs. no notch: all curiously right and "makes sense" where Apple is using them, exclusive App Store for iOS but no problem with third party stores for Mac, etc). Presumably, if this requires a wire, that will "make sense" and be readily justified as ideal right after Apple rolls it out and says so.

 

[StellarVixen]

Just launch this trash already so we can move on!

Oh, you think? Nope, it’s not gonna be that easy. There will be couple of months of follow up articles involving reactions to release, some loving it, some hating it. So, unfortunately, we are looking forward to at least several more months of front pages being dominated by this thing