Apple’s AR/VR headset will reportedly begin mass production in March.
Taiwanese news outlet DigiTimes reports its sources “hinted” Apple will use Taiwan-based Pegatron as its sole assembly manufacturer, with mass production beginning “at the end of the first quarter of 2023”.
DigiTimes claims “rough estimates” put the 2023 production run at around 750,000 units, saying its industry sources claim it will mainly target “commercial markets”. The Information and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman have previously reported the product will be priced between $2000 and $3000.
In August an Apple-linked company filed to trademark ‘Reality One’, ‘Reality Pro’, and ‘Reality Processor’, suggesting the headset and its processor will be branded Apple Reality.
Earlier in the year, an Apple-linked shell company trademarked RealityOS, and references to realityOS were found in App Store upload logs and Apple code. Bloomberg reported Apple is working on a realityOS (rOS) client for FaceTime with face tracking driving Memoji avatars, a VR version of Maps, spatial versions of Notes and Calendar, the ability to view a Mac’s display in-headset, and AR/VR tools for developers.
Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed it will weigh noticeably less than current VR headsets and feature high resolution OLED microdisplays, while The Information has claimed it will be powered by the M2 chip seen in the latest MacBooks and feature hand tracking, eye tracking, face tracking, leg tracking and iris scanning for logins and payments.
So if the reports so far are to be believed, Apple’s product will have higher resolution, a more powerful processor, more features, and a slimmer design than Quest Pro – though at a higher price. Kuo predicts Apple will host a media event in January, deliver development kits 2-4 weeks later, and launch pre-orders in the second quarter of 2023 for a release before WWDC 2023. WWDC is Apple’s yearly software conference, almost always held in June.
