Apple’s AR headset could retail at a premium price. (Image credit: D Rosa)
Mark Gurman has said that the launch of Apple’s Mixed Reality headset will define Tim Cook’s legacy as a CEO, and that Apple deviated from its original vision.
Apple’s WWDC 2023 special event is slated for next month – June 5 and during the event, the tech giant is expected to unveil its AR/MR headset for the first time with its xrOS operating system. Now, ahead of the rumored unveiling, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has said that this launch will define Tim Cook’s legacy as a CEO, and that Apple deviated from its original approach.
Gurman claims in the Bloomberg Businessweek newsletter that when launching the mixed reality headset, Tim Cook will try to recreate the same atmosphere that Apple has been able to do with other products like phones, earbuds, music players and smartwatches.
Gurman—citing sources familiar with the development process—claims that the headset that Cook will present during WWDC 2023 has “strayed away from its initial vision” during seven years of development. What started as an “unobtrusive pair of glasses that can be worn all day” has morphed into a headset that “resembles a pair of ski goggles and requires a separate battery pack.”
The launch is being called one of Tim Cook’s “last big swings as Apple CEO” and has the power to affect his legacy. “For Apple, this is the culmination of a billion-dollar development process, and some within the company have described it as the potential foundation of a post-iPhone era,” Gurman said.
The headset is expected to cost around $3,000 and could be shipped with Apple’s xrOS software – which it recently registered as a wordmark in New Zealand using a shell company.
