Apple’s augmented reality headset is still long overdue and according to an analyst, the design of these glasses would have been delayed. So we shouldn’t see it officially before 2025 or 2026.
Many rumors for several months claim that Apple is working on a mixed reality helmet or glasses, combining both virtual reality and augmented reality. The operating system has a name, RealityOS, while the product is expected to be called Reality One and/or Reality Pro.
Until now, we thought we would see this helmet arrive at the end of 2024, according to statements by Jeff Pu, analyst at Haitong International Tech Research. The latter came back on this to MarketWatch in an email to the media.
No augmented reality headset from Apple before 2025
According to Jeff Pu, we can now ” expect augmented reality glasses to be delayed to 2025-2026, due to design issues “. An estimate that goes in the direction of the analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, often relevant to the work of Apple. Last year he had actually indicated that these glasses could hit the market by 2025, but with a presentation in 2023.
MarketWatch also expects Apple to announce this AR/VR headset in the coming months. This could give app developers time to work on bringing services to Apple’s future platform in time for commercialization. However, the price could be insane and reach $2,500.
Apple is working on augmented reality
However, Apple has been raising the suspense for several years. Latest event, an interview with the CEO of Apple in person, Tim Cook. He said he was enthusiastic about augmented reality. According to him, its impact could be as deep as that of the Internet, enough to fuel all the rumors around this famous helmet.
It is indeed time for Apple to conquer this terrain since other competitors are already settling there, sometimes for several years. Meta, which rebranded itself a year ago, is betting on the metaverse and introduced the Meta Quest Pro, while PlayStation is gearing up for the release of PS VR 2. Even Google has got back in the saddle after failed Google Glass with a pair of augmented reality glasses dedicated to instant translation. Moreover, last January, a rumor revealed that Google would also prepare an augmented reality helmet.
An augmented reality market that is still looking for itself, but is growing
The mediaMarketWatchtook advantage of this information to interview Paolo Pescatore, technology analyst at PP Foresight on the virtual reality and augmented reality market. For him, “still feels like a solution looking for a problem“. At the moment, use cases and awareness are not strong enough for mainstream adoption.
But he believes in a portable device that would connect to the iPhone to access an augmented reality world, a sort of metaverse. Apple augmented reality glasses would, he says, be a good approach and would be a consistent part of Apple’s strategy. “VSit seems less intrusive and offers more opportunities for differentiation“, compared to a virtual reality headset for example. Paolo Pescatore goes even further and explains that Apple “will boost consumer demand for smart glasses and the AR field in general“. As has been the case with the smartphone, tablet or wireless headphones, Apple could well be the company that will really launch the market.
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