Kuo: Apple Mixed-Reality Headset May Not Appear at WWDC as Mass Production Pushed Back Yet Again

Apple has again pushed back mass production of its mixed-reality headset and the device may not appear at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said.

apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kaneApple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane

In a tweet, Kuo explained that Apple "isn't very optimistic" about whether the headset will be able to create an "iPhone moment." As a result, the company has chosen to delay the device's mass production schedule to the middle to the end of the third quarter of 2023. Kuo believes that the delay adds uncertainty around "whether the new device will appear at WWDC 2023, as the market widely expects."

The delay also means that shipment forecasts of the headset for 2023 will be even lower than previously thought, reducing to just 200,000 to 300,000 units. Previously, around half a million units were expected to ship this year.

Apple's cause for concern with the device is allegedly in anticipation of poor market feedback, catalysed by the economic downturn, hardware specification compromises, the weight of the device, the readiness of the headset's ecosystem and applications, and its high selling price. Kuo believes that the headset will be priced at $3,000 to $4,000, or even higher.

Kuo's comments mirror a recent report from The New York Times, which claimed that Apple employees have serious concerns about the headset's prospects, calling it "a solution in search of a problem."

Apple yesterday announced that WWDC 2023 will be held between June 5 and June 9. Until now, all indications have suggested that this would be when Apple introduces the headset.

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

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
New MacBook Pros Launching Tomorrow With These 4 New Features 2

M5 MacBook Models to Use New Compact Camera Module in 2025

Wednesday July 17, 2024 2:58 am PDT by
Apple in 2025 will take on a new compact camera module (CCM) supplier for future MacBook models powered by its next-generation M5 chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Writing in his latest investor note on unny-opticals-2025-business-momentum-to-benefit-509819818c2a">Medium, Kuo said Apple will turn to Sunny Optical for the CCM in its M5 MacBooks. The Chinese optical lens company...

Top Rated Comments

Jack Delgado Avatar
17 months ago
Pushed back again you say? Ah, I remember the first time this was delayed. Why, it was 30 and one years ago...

Attachment Image
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacWiz_007 Avatar
17 months ago
?

Attachment Image
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pauloregan Avatar
17 months ago
It's going to be a long presentation detailing a yellow already released iphone.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dwalls90 Avatar
17 months ago
Hopefully they listened the internal concerns regarding rushing the launch.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Koni17 Avatar
17 months ago
This is just silly, there is no way a company like Apple is deciding between launching/not launching a product just under 1.5 months before an event. Either the rumour was correct that they are going to launch it at WWDC, or it was a false rumour to begin with, and they had planned on launching it later on.

If they are going to launch it in 2023, I can see them choosing WWDC to do it, especially since they want developers working on apps before the official consumer launch happens. Similar to the M1 launch and how they provided the mac mini Developer Transition Kits, I could see them sending out developer units initially.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
unQuestionable Avatar
17 months ago
I bet $100 that it’s a developer kit and OS that comes at WWDC, and commercial model will be a year later.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)