Apple has just announced the date on which its traditional end of spring keynote will be held. It will open the ball for its WWDC 2023 on June 5, 2023, and will be the scene of various announcements, starting with iOS 17. It is indeed to new software that the Cupertino company is devoting the event, even if a few hardware surprises occasionally invite themselves, such as MacBooks.
And if there is a product that we are waiting for at the conference, it is above all the first extended reality (or mixed) headset with an apple. The device has been talked about for months – or rather years – and the WWDC should welcome the formalization of its operating system, probably called xrOS.
Will the helmet he will animate be at his side? According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, generally very aware of Apple’s little secrets, its launch would not be concomitant with WWDC. “The mass production schedule for assembly has been pushed back another month or two, to mid to late Q3 2023”, he assures. Only 200,000 to 300,000 units are expected this year, less than the 500,000 initially expected by the market.
Because Apple isn’t very optimistic about the AR/MR headset announcement recreating the astounding “iPhone moment,” the mass production schedule for assembly has been pushed back by another 1-2 months to mid-to-late 3Q23. The delay also adds uncertainty to whether the new device…
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) March 30, 2023
Still according to the leaker, Apple would have fears both on the technical characteristics, in particular the weight, and on the apps adapted to its product. The firm would also fear that its price is prohibitive, at $3,000 or $4,000. Still, despite Apple’s technical doubts, the marketing of such a device in a market for connected glasses and helmets trying to rise from its ashes, is expected as a strong signal by the industry. Even without actually kicking off this headset at WWDC, nothing would stop Apple from showing a preview.