Prior to Apple’s WWDC 22 keynote, there were a ton of rumors that suggested the tech giant could debut its long-rumored mixed-reality headset at the event. However, no references to the device or realityOS were made during the event. Now, TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is predicting the headset will arrive in the second quarter of 2023, a bit later than previously forecasted.
Analyst reveals Apple is once again pushing back the launch of its mixed-reality headset
Ahead of the event, Kuo already said that the headset would not be announced during WWDC 22 as that could set off several copycat devices and the tech giant is trying to avoid that. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also said that Apple announcing its mixed-reality headset at WWDC was highly unlikely. Gurman did say the device is “full steam ahead” but it seems improbable that Apple would debut it for developers and consumers at WWDC.
Since Apple did not make any references to the headset during WWDC, Kuo believes that the tech giant is once again delaying the launch of its headset. He said in a tweet:
I believe Apple’s AR/MR headset shipping date will postpone to 2Q23 (vs. 1Q23 of market consensus) because Shanghai lockdown interrupts the development. As expected, there were no clues for AR/MR headset at WWDC 2022. Here is my prediction for Apple AR/MR headset schedule.
The analyst went a step further and provided a predicted timeline for the testing and launch of the headset. Kuo expects the tech giant to begin engineering validation testing of the headset in the next three months. If everything goes as planned, it could be announced in early 2023 with a media event. Pre-orders will subsequently begin in the second quarter of 2023 and the headset will start hitting the stores before WWDCC 2023.
The delay is said to be caused by recent COVID-19 lockdowns in China hitting multiple cities. The lockdowns have caused significant strain on Apple’s supply chain. Another reason for the delay is the problems with the device itself. It was previously reported that Apple was running into problems with the device related to overheating, along with issues related to its software and cameras.
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