Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Apple aiming to unveil its mixed-reality headset this spring

Apple’s highly anticipated mixed-reality headset could be unveiled just ahead of the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

Apple’s headset, expected to be called “Reality Pro,” will likely offer virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) capabilities so wearers can immerse themselves in a virtual world or have digital data overlaid onto real-world, real-time imagery.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman — a reporter with a decent track record when it comes to Apple forecasts — said on Sunday that following a string of postponements with the device since Apple decided to start developing it some five years ago, the tech giant is currently “aiming to unveil it this spring ahead of the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June.”

This jibes with comments late last week from the usually reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo whose contacts in Apple’s supply chain have led him to believe that the device will go on sale either late in the second quarter or possibly sometime in the third quarter, meaning July through September.

In other words, unveiling it in the spring would give Apple enough time to launch a massive marketing campaign ahead of a sales drive several months later.

And Kuo, like Gurman, also believes that Apple will hold an unveiling event for the mixed-reality headset in the spring, possibly during or just ahead of the WWDC event.

A render of Apple's VR headset.
Apple AR/VR headset render Ian Zelbo

Gurman’s report also claims that Apple has already handed the headset to a “small number of high-profile software developers” for testing, and so they can start creating third-party apps for the device. His report adds that the headset’s operating system is dubbed “Borealis” inside the company, but will be marketed as “xrOS.”

More recently, Apple had been expected to unveil the headset at an event this month before starting shipments somewhere around April through June. But due to what Kuo said were “issues with mechanical component drop testing and the availability of software development tools,” Apple engineers needed more time to deal with the challenges and the company now appears to be aiming for the spring unveil before shipping the device several months later.

Whatever happens, it really does finally look as if 2023 will be the year in which Apple brings its long-awaited mixed-reality headset to market. Gurman adds that the company is “banking on the product as its hot new introduction for this year.” We can’t wait to see it.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Here’s when Apple’s AR glasses could finally go on sale
Apple iGlasses

Right now, almost all the chatter around Apple’s secret projects is focused on the company’s Reality Pro mixed-reality headset. But now one well-known analyst has issued a new report shining a light on Apple’s upcoming augmented reality (AR) glasses -- and set out a projected release date for the hush-hush device.

The news comes from Apple guru Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a solid track record when it comes to leaks and predictions surrounding the Cupertino giant. According to Kuo, Apple’s AR glasses could launch in 2026 or 2027 at the earliest.

Read more
Leak reveals how Apple VR headset’s hand tracking may work
A rendering of an Apple mixed-reality headset (Reality Pro) in a gold color seen from the front.

Apple’s secret mixed-reality headset -- dubbed Reality Pro -- is due to launch imminently, but the way you’ll use the device is something of a mystery. Sure, rumors have pointed to some form of gesture control, but that’s a pretty vague description. Fortunately, we might now have a better idea of how it will work.

That’s because Apple has just been granted a patent outlining how you might be able to use a special ring to control objects while using the Reality Pro headset. The idea is that, with this ring on your finger, you’ll be able to perform various gestures that will let you open apps, scroll webpages, and more.

Read more
Apple’s Reality Pro headset is the VR industry’s ‘last hope’
A rendering of an Apple mixed-reality headset (Reality Pro) in a gray color seen from the front.

Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset hasn’t even launched, yet it’s already being touted as the “last hope” for the virtual reality (VR) headset industry. It shows what a dire situation the market is in, at least according to some estimates.

The grim appraisal comes from respected industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a post on Medium, Kuo explained that other headset makers have cut their production plans and are shipping far fewer units than previously expected. The malaise affects augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) headsets as well as their VR counterparts, says Kuo.

Read more