Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Kuo: Apple to Launch High-End and Low-End Versions of Second-Generation Headset in 2025
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yep - who asked for a mobile phone with a non-mechanical keyboard? That's just stupid.
And iPod before that.
Some people have spent the bulk of their lives hoping Apple will bite the dust because the company is soooo out of touch with customers and has no idea what they're doing. With fingers crossed this might be it.
By Apple's admittedly very high standards, the HomePod and iPhone Mini are both flops relative to the success of other products in their segments.
I remember the word "glassholes" for Google Glass users who were effectively aiming a camera onto everybody who was in their view. Apple might face the same problem once they build AR glasses that are made to be worn in public.
I think those who say this will “flop” are definitely on the right track.
Rumors of Apple working on VR and/or AR hardware have come forth from time to time over the years, but you know what I don’t see much talk about?
Content.
What exactly is supposed to compel us (or anyone) to want to spend several thousand dollars on such hardware? At least with VR, there are games and even that market has not grown to anywhere near the point many predicted 5-10 years ago. With AR, there are even fewer applications outside of professional/business settings (thinking design visualization, task training, etc.)
Rumors of Apple working on VR and/or AR hardware have come forth from time to time over the years, but you know what I don’t see much talk about?
Content.
What exactly is supposed to compel us (or anyone) to want to spend several thousand dollars on such hardware? At least with VR, there are games and even that market has not grown to anywhere near the point many predicted 5-10 years ago. With AR, there are even fewer applications outside of professional/business settings (thinking design visualization, task training, etc.)
I think this product might be different from any other Apple has made in as much as if it flops initially they're just going to keep doing it and developing it and marketing the hell out of it. For however long it takes. AR/VR seems like a personal obsession of Tim's.
Porn has traditionally (traditionally meaning in the past 20 years or so) been an advocate and protagonist in new technologies so I'm afraid to say you're probably right.
I feel like I'm not alone in thinking this is something I don't need, but if 3rd party apps start adopting it I can also see myself owning an Apple product in this category in 5 years or so. Video editing... forget it. 3D stuff, very possibly. If Blender got onto this it would be interesting. Metaverse thing - not interested. Conference calls - niche but possibly useful. Gaming? Apple isn't into gaming. TV and Movies? Nope. They must have plans but I can see this being of interest to 0.1% of Apple users unless there's some phenomenal technology that no-one's even thought of yet and software is developed for it. They MUST have a trick up their sleeve here.
I agree especially with how quickly technology becomes "outdated". see the nvidia 3000 vs 4000. people paid 2k for a card that is middle tier a year later
Or they could copy from someoneThe low-end model, you'll just have to build it yourself. (Cardboard not included)
iNstructions for $1099; iNstructions Pro Max for $1599.The low-end model, you'll just have to build it yourself. (Cardboard not included)
I recall you use this super weak argument, bad analogy and historical revisionism in every VR thread. You were corrected each time and you keep using the same tired VR propaganda stunt.
Who asked for a mobile phone with a non-mechanical keyboard before the iPhone? They already existed for at least 5 years before Apple did it. They were gradually getting better and the big change came when mobile GPUs and 3G came about.
Who asked for a pocket mp3 player before the iPod? They existed for years and Creative was the market leader before Apple did it. It wasn't an immediate success. The iPod's sales only kicked off when iTunes for Windows was released. The Mac segment was just too small.
Neither of these devices required strapping an object to your face and using a computer in an unnatural way with multiple hardware and software layers between yourself and your daily habits and environment.
You cannot even include the iPod or iPhone in this discussion unless you are very strange and just want to gaslight people for mocking VR.
Apple's cheaper second-generation AR/VR headset will come in two high-end and low-end models, according to Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Writing in a new Medium post summarizing his latest survey findings and predictions, Kuo says both models will likely arrive in 2025.
Apple's long-rumored AR/VR headset has yet to be announced, but a report earlier this week claimed that the company's manufacturing partner Foxconn is already developing a cheaper second-generation version of the headset.
That report said Apple's first headset will be "extremely expensive," with industry estimates ranging from $3,000 to $5,000, while Apple's second-generation headset will have a more affordable price within the territory of "a high-end Mac computer." Now it seems Apple is planning a two-tiered series of the second-generation device to appeal to a wider customer base, similar to the way it offers both standard and more premium Pro-branded iPhones each year.
In his latest report, Kuo says that Pegatron is gradually withdrawing from Apple's headset business, and will likely transfer its AR/MR development team and production resources to Luxcaseict (a joint venture between Luxshare ICT and Pegatron), led by Luxshare ICT, in the first half of 2023.
This will see Luxshare ICT taking over the subsequent design and production of the high-end version of the second-generation headset. Such changes will lead to "the subsequent acceleration of reducing the cost of the headset, which is what Apple expects," adds Kuo.
Apple's plans to release a cheaper version of its AR/VR headset were first reported last month by The Information's Wayne Ma and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The headset would supposedly use more affordable components, such as lower-resolution lenses.
According to The Information, "significant" work on the second-generation device started last year, and at the time, the goal was to launch the cheap headset in 2024. Bloomberg previously reported that Apple's budget mixed reality headset could arrive in either 2024 or 2025.
Apple's first headset is expected to be announced at WWDC in June and will reportedly have over a dozen cameras, dual 4K lenses, advanced eye and hand tracking, and many other advanced features. As for software, the device is said to have an iOS-like interface with a grid of apps.
In a follow-up tweet to his latest Medium blog, Kuo said his prediction for the mass shipment schedule of the first-generation headset is unchanged, but the likelihood of it being released at a spring event this year is decreasing. However, Kuo also said that the probability of the headset's launch alongside the iPhone 15 in the third quarter of this year "is rising."
Article Link: Kuo: Apple to Launch High-End and Low-End Versions of Second-Generation Headset in 2025
Wait.
So Apple is farming out the DESIGN now too? No wonder they can't get out of China. How much control does China have now, Tim?
Prepare to get gaslit by a VR/metaverse marketing person pretending to just be a commenter/engineer/coder. We've seen how aggressive they are across forums. They will hit you with a bizarre list of stuff they say can be done in VR, like "make friends", "call people", "work", and "immersive reality communication avatar channeling multiversity of digital emotional hyperspace blockchain beings of unique characteristics of ultrasonic cross platform recreations of eternal realms of conquesting cyber females and virtual land domination".
I think all the derision an negativity is justified here. This is not a consumer ready product, but something being hyped beyond belief. It's only natural.
A gee-whiz, super expensive thing, really only for display, or for a niche usage.
I will say it will be very fun here, just to see who will buy this and why. I'm rather curious.
A gee-whiz, super expensive thing, really only for display, or for a niche usage.
I will say it will be very fun here, just to see who will buy this and why. I'm rather curious.
Last edited:
I think it is safe to say that if this thing (and its OS) doesn't materialize at WWDC, then its vaporware that Kuo and co. have gotten completely wrong. It's put up or shut up time. Apple can certainly delay things as long as they want, but Kuo has already given multiple firm release timeframes, first January then April, now June.
Nope. Sorry, that won't fly.
I didn't mean to confuse you. Try thinking a little deeper rather than rushing to a snappy retort.
It was many MR readers who posed those silly questions when those devices were announced/released (and certainly not me). That's hardly a weak argument. If you're still not able to understand what I'm saying that's OK.
And here we are with the same sorts of rhetorical questions today.
It's also OK that you don't see the potential of personal/commercial AR. Apple will help with that when their products are released.
Last edited:
Or the initial Apple Maps.... there are still people today who refuse to give it a second chance.