Well-connected Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple is unlikely to debut its much-rumored mixed reality headset or the accompanying new AR/VR operating system at the upcoming WWDC 2022 event, as mass production is still a ways off.
Kuo, tweeting on Tuesday, said he expected Apple’s headset to be launched in 2023 and that if the Cupertino firm announced it too early it would lead to “copycat projects” by competitors hitting shelves before APple’s headset could hit shelves.
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I'm sure that if Apple announces AR/MR headset and its OS at WWDC, competitors will immediately kick off copycat projects and happily copy Apple's excellent ideas, and hit the store shelves before Apple launches in 2023.— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) May 31, 2022
In a pair of tweets on Tuesday, Kuo said he expected Apple’s headset to launch in 2023, and that announcing it too early would see Apple’s competitors “immediately kick off copycat projects” and release rival products before Apple’s headset hits the shelves.
Kuo’s comments jibe with a recent report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who on Sunday said that the headset’s launch will likely be delayed until 2023 due to development issues, including overheating issues from at least one chip, as well as camera and software challenges.
There have been signs of a “realityOS” operating system that will run on Apple’s much-rumored mixed-reality headset found in some Apple source code. Also, a trademark for “realityOS” has surfaced, with a foreign filing date deadline of June 8, 2022, just two days after the main WWDC keynote. However, Gurman says he doesn’t expect a “full-blown” announcement of Apple’s headset at WWDC.
Gurman says Mac-related announcements are more likely to be made at WWDC this year, with a possible unveiling of a new M2-powered MacBook Air.
