Apple’s mythical mixed reality headset has once again entered the conversation thanks to a new report from Apple soothsayer Mark Gurman. Gurman now reckons the long-awaited VR/AR device from Apple will make its debut at the company’s annual World Wide Developers Conference in June this year. Not before, as was previously rumoured.
Any day now, Apple
This is certainly not the first, second, or even third time the tech company has pushed back the launch. The XR headset was originally planned for a 2019 release. That was then pushed back to 2020, before the world descended into SARS-CoV-2-induced viral chaos. Following said chaos, the headset was delayed for several more years, with every delay seeming like the final one.
This time it’ll release for sure, we think hope.
As we reported last month, the Consumer Electronics Show, a global event dedicated to showcasing the latest bleeding edge in tech, would’ve been a great platform to launch the device. But Apple likes all the attention to itself and it wouldn’t be a proper Apple announcement without Tim Cook standing in a field.
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In January, Gurman was under the impression that the fruit company would soft-launch the headset before its WWDC event. It would then use the event to provide third-party developers with info on its new platform, likely called xrOS, and announce its software development kit (SDK). Now, if the new rumours are true, we can expect everything all at once at WWDC.
A fruit company of habit
Trademarks filed by the company indicate we could see two devices, one called ‘Reality Pro’ and a second called ‘Reality One’. These will likely target different market segments with different system specs and prices to match.
June is only a few months away. Although the event doesn’t have a date set yet, every WWDC (with the exception of 2020) took place in the first week of June. Apple is unlikely to deviate from that schedule.
We don’t have much longer to wait and if the company’s other pioneering products are anything to go by, the virtual and augmented reality industry is about to be turned on its head. After eight years of development and teasing, we should hope so. Then there’ll just be Apple’s car for this generation’s grandchildren’s children to look forward to.
