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Apple’s new mixed reality headset is rumored to be closer to its release as a leaked story indicates that Apple’s board was shown demo content for the new Mixed Reality headset.
In late May, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman released a story that members of the Apple board were shown the highly anticipated Mixed Reality headset. Gurman indicates that this could mean that the Apple headset codenamed N301 is only a year away from a full commercial release.
The reason is that significant product launches (usually a new product category) are commonly demoed in front of the company’s board for approval and last-minute notes. For example, this standard practice happened with the product launch of Siri, weeks before its release. However, if the WWDC is any indication, then unfortunately the anticipated MR headset is not about to be released.
If you want to uncover what we know so far, our previous article “Everything we know so far about the Apple MR headset, specs, price and features” will provide you with everything.
The mixed reality HMD by Apple will most likely be a standalone device, from Jony Ivy’s concerns about its broad appeal if the headset would come with a base station.
As opposed to other many other headsets, the N301 will run a native operating system that will be its own thing outside of the metaverse. A natively built and optimized OS follows a common strategy Apple employs. Both to keep users within their ecosystem and to control the content so it can be optimized to run efficiently.
While we still don’t know the optical technology utilized, we know that the Apple Mixed Reality headset will feature two 4K full-passthrough screens, powered by an OLED display engine.
To the surprise of no one, the MR headset will be stylish and lightweight. In fact, the weight is said to be between 300 and 400 grams. While interestingly, the materials used are rumored to be fabric!
Due to prior R&D heat dispersion issues and remaining manufacturing testing before mass production, the Apple MR HMD is expected to be announced in early 2023 with a release later that year: most likely in the Fall of 2023. Unfortunately, we don’t know enough to get a price point. But we do know that the follow-up headset positioned for enterprises will have a premium price of between $2,000 and $3,000.
Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset is speculated to inch closer to its release as a leaked story indicates that the Apple board was shown demo content for the new Mixed Reality headset. Unfortunately, the headset wasn’t announced at WWDC. Nevertheless, it is an indicator that the release is coming!
