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According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has showcased its mixed-reality headset to its top 100 executives at the Steve Jobs Theater. The event was a “key milestone” ahead of the device’s public announcement planned for June, and it was intended to rally Apple’s top members of staff around the company’s next major platform.
While senior Apple executives have apparently got a peek at the headset every year since 2018, the latest preview was reportedly a far more significant event, being “polished, glitzy, and exciting”. However, despite the hype around the device, Gurman warned that the device may launch with several potential issues.
The mixed-reality headset is likely to launch at around $3,000, lacks a clear killer app, requires an external battery that will need to be replaced every couple of hours, and uses a design that some testers have deemed uncomfortable. It’s also likely to launch with limited media content.
As a result, Apple executives are said to be “striking a realistic tone within the company” with the understanding that “this isn’t going to be a hit product right out of the gate”, potentially following a similar trajectory as the Apple Watch instead.
Gurman believes that the first version of the device “will look like a dud next to the company’s existing products”, but it is still “likely to make Apple the market leader in mixed reality within a few months”. Executives expect consumer interest to grow as subsequent iterations of the headset launch at lower price points in the future.
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Apple’s mixed-reality headset is the company’s most ambitious project yet, and the hype surrounding the device is growing as the public announcement draws closer. The headset is expected to blur the lines between the digital and physical worlds, offering users an immersive and interactive experience like never before.
However, with potential issues surrounding the device’s launch, it remains to be seen whether the mixed-reality headset will be a hit with consumers right out of the gate. But with Apple’s track record of releasing products that start slow and then become hugely successful, the mixed-reality headset could still be a game-changer in the industry. We’ll have to wait until June to see if the hype is justified.
