Apple pushes back mixed-reality headset debut from April to WWDC in June

Apple has delayed its planned introduction of its first mixed-reality headset from around April until its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, Bloomberg News reports citing “people familiar with the matter.”
Apple VR/AR headset concept by Antonio DeRosa
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:

Apple made the decision to delay the launch earlier this month after product testing showed that both hardware and software issues still needed to be ironed out, they said.
The debut of the headset has been a long time coming, with Apple working on the technology since around 2015. At one point, the company aimed to introduce the product in June of last year, before pushing back the introduction until around January 2023. It was then shifted to spring before the latest postponement.
The device, which melds virtual and augmented reality, would vault Apple into its first major new product category since the company began selling smartwatches in 2015. That could help bolster growth following a recent slowdown, but it’s still an uncertain market and Apple plans to charge around $3,000 for the new product — a daunting price tag…
Apple’s earlier plan was to unveil the product in early spring at a launch event aimed at consumers. It could then provide more extensive details and development tools to third-party software developers at its annual June expo, known as WWDC. Now the company is aiming to debut all aspects of the device at that conference. The product would then go on sale later in the year.

MacDailyNews Take: No rush. This is a marathon, not a sprint, a first step on the way towards Apple’s truly revolutionary smartglasses. WWDC makes perfect sense for this headset anyway.
First Apple’s mixed-reality (AR + VR) smartgoggles, focused on developers, then the smartglasses revolution will follow! – MacDailyNews, January 30, 2023
Apple has the custom silicon. Apple has the installed base. Apple has the ecosystem. Apple has the services. Apple will have the profitable portion of the mixed-reality headset market. And then, a few years later, Apple will take the profitable portion of the smartglasses (AR) market, too.
And some people will slap their foreheads and lament, “I could’ve bought Apple shares under $140!” – MacDailyNews, May 24, 2022
Apple’s smartgoggles will be cool, but it’s the subsequent Apple smartglasses that will change the world. – MacDailyNews, July 11, 2022
Augmented Reality is going to change everything. — MacDailyNews, July 21, 2017
Someday, hopefully sooner than later, we’ll look back at holding up slabs of metal and glass to access AR as unbelievably quaint. — MacDailyNews, July 28, 2017
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