Kuo: Apple 'Well Prepared' for Headset Announcement Next Month

Recent reports have converged on the belief that Apple will show off its long-rumored AR/VR headset at WWDC in June, and now Ming-Chi Kuo's latest predictions also align with the rumors, with the industry analyst claiming that the announcement is "highly likely" and the company is "well prepared" for the unveiling.

apple headset underside render by marcus kane

Concept render by Marcus Kane

Previously, Kuo said Apple had pushed back production on the headset to the third quarter of 2023, and that as a result, the device might not be introduced at WWDC, but the analyst apparently no longer holds that view.

In a brief report posted to Medium on Monday, Kuo wrote that the headset's announcement next month "bodes well" for the supply chain share price, with the analyst touching on five of the device's components that – apart from assembly – represent its "most expensive material costs" in his view.

Those include the 4K micro-OLED displays, dual M2-based processors, the headset casing, 12 optical cameras for tracking hand movements, and the external power supply. These components are being supplied by Sony, TSMC, Everwin Precision, Cowell, and Goretek, respectively.

Pricing on the headset is expected to begin somewhere around $3,000. Perhaps with that in mind, Apple won't aim it at general consumers to start with, but will instead position it as a device for developers, content creators, and professionals. Apple expects to sell just one headset per day per retail store, and it has told suppliers that it expects sales of seven to 10 million units during the first year of availability.

Monday, June 5 is the date of Apple's WWDC keynote event, where Apple is expected to finally break its silence about the existence of the headset – although some non-Apple employees may have already been provided with a glimpse of the device.

"The Apple headset is so good," said Palmer Luckey in a tweet posted earlier on Monday, without elaborating. Luckey is the founder of Oculus, which was behind the original Oculus Rift VR hardware in 2012. Meta acquired Oculus in 2014, and Luckey is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality market.

Related Roundup: AR/VR Headset

Top Rated Comments

F23 Avatar
3 weeks ago
Apple customer bank accounts are not well prepared.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MLVC Avatar
3 weeks ago
Probably an unpopular opinion but I just don't care about that headset.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mooger83 Avatar
3 weeks ago
I see no one asking the most basic question which is: how is Apple going to properly demo something that really needs to be experienced in person? Sure they’ll have a bunch of snazzy videos and pictures. But what does 4K per eye actually look like in real life? I personally don’t want to go to an Apple Store and slap something on my face that hundreds of others wore on their oily foreheads before me.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
myusernamedoesnotmatter Avatar
3 weeks ago
Enough with the speculation and the debates, I just want to see the darn thing already (even if i'll never buy it).
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DNichter Avatar
3 weeks ago
I won't be buying, but I am interested in future iterations down the line potentially.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
moabal Avatar
3 weeks ago
I honestly think these people have no idea what they are talking about. They are just guessing. Perhaps they had one correct prediction in the past which gives them "credibility" like Jon Prosser.

Whatever happens during WWDC happens.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)