Apple Headset's Capabilities Said to 'Far Exceed' Those of Rival Devices

The Wall Street Journal on Friday outlined what to expect from Apple's long-rumored AR/VR headset project, corroborating several details previously reported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and The Information's Wayne Ma.

apple ar concept 2 blue

Apple headset mockup by designer Ian Zelbo

The report indicates that Apple plans to unveil the headset at WWDC in June, and says many sessions at the conference will be related to developing software for the headset. However, the news outlet claims that mass production of the headset isn't expected to begin until September due to manufacturing delays. Apple is said to be "anticipating some production issues" with the headset, but there are no specific details.

The headset is expected to have an internal screen for virtual reality, while outward-facing cameras would allow users to view the real world inside the headset with augmented reality overlays. This combination is known as "mixed reality."

Other details corroborated by the report include the headset being "experimental" and "unconventional" relative to most other Apple products, costing around $3,000, and having a waist-mounted external battery pack. FaceTime, Apple Fitness+, and gaming could be three major use cases for the headset, the report adds.

While it remains to be seen what the headset's biggest selling point will be, its capabilities "far exceed those of competitors," according to some sources cited in the report. Apple's headset is said to offer "greater levels of performance and immersion" than some competing devices, like Facebook parent company Meta's Quest Pro headset.

WWDC begins with Apple's keynote on June 5, meaning that Apple's headset is likely just weeks away from finally being unveiled to the public.

Related Roundup: Apple Vision Pro
Buyer's Guide: Vision Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: Apple Vision Pro

Popular Stories

iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips at a Discount

Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March. As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...

Top Rated Comments

eicca Avatar
27 months ago
The cost far exceeds competitors too, but I’m not sure customers’ needs far exceed the current market offerings.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
asdfjkl; Avatar
27 months ago
Not sure what the killer app for this will be. At that price a killer app will be mandatory.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hch720 Avatar
27 months ago
Not buying a first gen product.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JOLoughlin Avatar
27 months ago
At this point publications are just regurgitating what little they know & speculation based on existing products mixed with What-Would-Apple-Do? masquerading as reporting.

Unless an unprecedented leak happens, best to just wait and see at this point for them to tell their own story.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pianophile Avatar
27 months ago
I don't want one, though, I didn't want an iPhone, Apple Watch, or iPad before they were launched, and own all three now.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Corefile Avatar
27 months ago
They need a killer app to make it successful but what is that? If you look at the other VR headsets they are usually novelty gifts on Christmas Day put in a drawer to never be reused.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)