Apple’s Focus on Mixed-Reality Headset May Slow Other Product Development

Apple reportedly plans to launch a new high-performance mixed-reality headset in 2023. It is expected to come with its own operating system, dedicated chips, and App Store. The Cupertino company had initially aimed at bringing the mixed-reality headset to market in 2019. As per a new report, Apple is now likely to unveil its new mixed-reality headset at Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. The company is said to have allocated most of its resources towards the development of this headset. As a result, the report suggests that we may not see any major developments in other Apple products in 2023.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman mentioned in his Power On newsletter that Apple’s mixed reality headset — believed to be called Reality Pro — will come with its dedicated OS, App Store, and dedicated chips. The company is expected to unveil the headset at the WWDC event in June with shipments expected to begin in the fall of 2023.

A few high-profile software developers have reportedly already received the mixed-reality headset for testing. So, they can start developing third-party apps for its operating system — codenamed ‘Borealis’ — which is expected to be called xrOS at launch. However, Gurman says that Apple still has several kinks to iron out before its launch.

The Cupertino company is said to have roped in resources from other software and hardware engineering departments in order to resolve these issues in time. This has reportedly hampered the development progress of other products that were already facing delays and budget cuts due to the economic slowdown in recent times.

It is believed that as a result of this shuffle, products like the new MacBook Pro models may offer the same design and features as previous generation models. The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro variants may get pushed to next year. Similarly, the 24-inch iMac Pro is now unlikely to arrive in 2023.