Apple AR viewer, WWDC23 presentation at risk. While some see hints of the new headset in the newly unveiled WWDC 2023 logo, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo signaled that production of Apple’s first headset for AR and VR has been delayed—just a year or two months, but not technical problems but a lack of optimism at Apple, hardware compromises included.
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Kuo said the supply chain will start assembling the device during the second half or late third quarter of this year. The delay results in a revised estimate of the units produced and shipped this year, which will be around 200,000-300,000, instead of the initial estimates which exceeded 500,000 units.
But it’s not about technical or production problems: according to the analyst, Apple has postponed the construction of a month or two because it is not optimistic about the market prospects of the device due to its high price (about 3,000 dollars), especially considering of the current weak economic climate.
He also said that Apple had to compromise on specifications, such as weight, during the development cycle: The delay could also have to do with the availability of apps and the ecosystem. Finally, Kuo also raised the question of whether the delay in starting production could lead to a postponement of the announcement itself. If so, it is difficult to hope for a presentation of the viewer as early as next June during WWDC 2023, as widely indicated so far.
In this perspective, the postponement of one or two months with availability towards the end of the year, would give more time to programmers to develop and fine-tune apps and software for the new device.
We also recall that Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman previously reported that Apple intends to present the device in June, a news that seems to be taking shape in these hours, now that WWDC23 has been officially announced. Apple’s first headset, likely called the “Apple Reality Pro,” is the culmination of a research and development journey that began several years ago.
However, the headset is likely to have limited appeal and is not intended for the general public. it is thought, in fact, that it could be marketed mainly for developers and for use in the corporate sector. It is expected that Apple will introduce future generations of this viewer, certainly aimed at the end user.