Apple’s long-awaited AR/VR headset could face another round of delays. According to the latest supply chain data collected by Ming Chi KuoApple may have delayed mass shipments of its headphones to the second half of 2023 as it scrambles to resolve software issues. Kuo previously expected mass shipments to begin in the second quarter of 2023.
Bloomberg reported last week that Apple’s headset will run on the “xrOS” platform, rather than the previously reported “realityOS” name. This is a change that the company has reportedly made internally in recent weeks. Not to be confused with the iPhone XR, Bloomberg says the “xr” in this case stands for “extended reality”.
According to Kuo, changes and bugs in xrOS caused Apple to delay mass shipments of its headset to the second half of 2023. Kuo doesn’t give any specific reasoning, but the assumption is based on its latest supply chain survey of Apple manufacturing. the partners.
It’s important to remember that a delay in mass shipments doesn’t necessarily mean Apple’s headset won’t be announced in the first half. Apple can always announce the product months before its actual availability, and it’s something it’s done in the past with products like the Apple Watch.
That said, however, Kuo worries that an announcement in January, as has been speculated, would be too soon and ultimately “damage to promotion and sales.”
Whether the media event schedule (previously estimated in January 2023) will also be delayed is yet to be determined, but generally, if the delay between the media event and the mass shipment of the final product is too long, it hurts promotion and to sales.
Kuo also reiterates today that Apple headphones should be a niche product. He predicts shipments of the device will be “less than 500,000 units” in 2023. Kuo’s prediction falls short of other analysts’ consensus, which ranges from 800,000 to 1.2 million units.
The 9to5Mac take
It’s clearly taking longer than expected for Apple to perfect the first version of its mixed reality headset, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s a whole new category of products for the company, which often doesn’t go down well. With competition already in the market from Meta, it’s clear that Apple needs to get off to a good start with its own AR/VR hardware.
I also think it’s worth pointing out that Apple may continue to test and even launch new AR and VR features on its other platforms in the meantime. This means users can see what’s possible with AR/VR technology and developers can test the technology before the dedicated headset is actually available.
What do you think of the latest Apple headphone rumors and reports? Are you still interested in seeing what the company has up its sleeve? Let us know in the comments.
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