Earlier reports suggested that Apple could launch its very first VR headset - Reality Pro in the first quarter of 2023. According to the latest report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the launch of the same has been delayed further due to some issues pertaining to software optimisation. Another report from Bloomberg hinted that the Apple Reality Pro will be powered by xrOS and not the realityOS. It is suggested that Apple has made this change internally, where the "XR" stands for extended reality. Kuo claims that Apple is still squashing the bugs on xrOS, which has delayed the mass shipment of the product, which is said to happen in the second half of 2023. While this shouldn't affect the actual announcement of the product, it is likely to affect the availability of the product in the market. In a series of tweets, Kuo wrote, "Apple MR headset shipment forecast in 2023 will likely be less than 500k units, which is lower than the market consensus of 800k-1,200k units." He added that it is still unknown if the media event, which is expected to take place in January 2023 will also be delayed. Check out his tweets below (6/8) My latest survey indicates that the mass shipment schedule of Apple's MR headset may delay to 2H23 because of software-related issues (vs. the previous estimate of 2Q23). — 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) December 4, 2022 (7/8) The mass shipment schedule of components is still likely 1H23/2Q23, but due to postponed mass shipment schedule of the end product, Apple MR headset shipment forecast in 2023 will likely be less than 500k units, which is lower than the market consensus of 800k-1,200k units. — 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) December 4, 2022 Apple has done this with quite a few products, where, the device has gone on sale after a few weeks of announcement. However, Kuo also believes that Apple might not announce the Reality Pro VR headset in January 2023, which is said to be too early given there is a delay in the mass shipment of the product. Just like the AirPods Max, the Reality Pro headset is said to be a niche product, and the company is likely to ship around 500,000 units of the same in 2023. This will be a mixed-reality headset combining both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (AR), according to several reports. Apple will likely equip this with a number of powerful sensors for many of the experiences to work, as previous reports have indicated. Kuo had earlier noted that the headset will include advanced hand gesture detection and four sets of 3D sensors, which will allow for more accurate capture of gestures, object detection. The Apple headset will also come with a hefty price tag as Bloomberg had reported earlier. It is expected to start at $2000, though it could be limited to developers in the early stages.
