Kuo: Apple Mixed-Reality Headset May Not Appear at WWDC as Mass Production Pushed Back Yet Again

Apple has again pushed back mass production of its mixed-reality headset and the device may not appear at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said.

apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kaneApple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane

In a tweet, Kuo explained that Apple "isn't very optimistic" about whether the headset will be able to create an "iPhone moment." As a result, the company has chosen to delay the device's mass production schedule to the middle to the end of the third quarter of 2023. Kuo believes that the delay adds uncertainty around "whether the new device will appear at WWDC 2023, as the market widely expects."

The delay also means that shipment forecasts of the headset for 2023 will be even lower than previously thought, reducing to just 200,000 to 300,000 units. Previously, around half a million units were expected to ship this year.

Apple's cause for concern with the device is allegedly in anticipation of poor market feedback, catalysed by the economic downturn, hardware specification compromises, the weight of the device, the readiness of the headset's ecosystem and applications, and its high selling price. Kuo believes that the headset will be priced at $3,000 to $4,000, or even higher.

Kuo's comments mirror a recent report from The New York Times, which claimed that Apple employees have serious concerns about the headset's prospects, calling it "a solution in search of a problem."

Apple yesterday announced that WWDC 2023 will be held between June 5 and June 9. Until now, all indications have suggested that this would be when Apple introduces the headset.

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Top Rated Comments

Jack Delgado Avatar
30 months ago
Pushed back again you say? Ah, I remember the first time this was delayed. Why, it was 30 and one years ago...

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Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacWiz_007 Avatar
30 months ago
?

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Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pauloregan Avatar
30 months ago
It's going to be a long presentation detailing a yellow already released iphone.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dwalls90 Avatar
30 months ago
Hopefully they listened the internal concerns regarding rushing the launch.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Koni17 Avatar
30 months ago
This is just silly, there is no way a company like Apple is deciding between launching/not launching a product just under 1.5 months before an event. Either the rumour was correct that they are going to launch it at WWDC, or it was a false rumour to begin with, and they had planned on launching it later on.

If they are going to launch it in 2023, I can see them choosing WWDC to do it, especially since they want developers working on apps before the official consumer launch happens. Similar to the M1 launch and how they provided the mac mini Developer Transition Kits, I could see them sending out developer units initially.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
unQuestionable Avatar
30 months ago
I bet $100 that it’s a developer kit and OS that comes at WWDC, and commercial model will be a year later.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)