According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple plans to launch its first AR headset in 2022, but it won’t go on sale immediately, Gizmo reports.
Gurman said Apple’s AR headset, which has been repeatedly reported in the media, could be unveiled in a launch event, just like the first iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, but would not officially hit the market until some time later.
According to him, he believes that Apple’s first headset will have a complex and expensive design with interchangeable lenses and that Apple will have to work with suppliers around the world on the lenses and with them on complex technologies that have not been used before. And Apple itself wants to bring such a groundbreaking new category to the public but wants to avoid the risk of early exposure.
A similar launch-and-delay behavior was seen with the introduction of the Apple Watch, which was initially launched along with the iPhone but was not available until April of the following year, 227 days after launch.
Gurman mentioned, “When the Apple Watch was launched, Cook was under pressure from investors and customers to introduce a new product category after three years as CEO. Another 200-day delay would have been difficult. Plus, it’s a perfect fit with the larger iPhone 6 series and Apple Pay.”
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also already predicted the first Apple headset. He said that Apple will launch a new AR headset in the fourth quarter of 2022 with a processor that has “Mac-equivalent processing power,” and that the chip design will be the most important difference between Apple’s AR headset and its competitors.
Previous reports have said that Apple smart glasses do not have the independent computing power and need to be connected to an Apple iPhone to work properly.
Apple smart glasses have their own processing power, which may be related to Apple’s own development of processor chips for the personal computer product line. Apple has already launched its own computer chip called “M1“, which even exceeds the performance of Intel processors that Apple has been purchasing in the past, and this processor also reduces energy consumption and extends the battery life.