In previous months there were many doubts about whether it would be an AR or VR device. There is even the theory that they are finally two different devices in the format of helmets first and glasses later. Be that as it may, what aims to get there sooner are some helmets or glasses that could be from mixed reality, that is, allowing augmented and virtual reality functions.
Possible dates and a price that will be controversial
In Gurman’s latest newsletter, published late last week, it was stated that Apple will not present and launch the cases at the same timeRather, it is likely that it will offer a small advance first, and then put them on the market months later. An action that would not be unprecedented and that has a lot of foundation, given that being a new line of products, the company must first offer a working environment for developers to adapt their tools to this new device.
It happened in its day with the original iPhone, presented in January 2007 without being on the market until June of that same year. It also happened with the Apple Watch, when they were introduced for the first time in September 2014 and put on sale in April 2015. Although there have been other cases of fiasco such as that of the canceled AirPower, presented in 2017 and having a fateful end in March 2019 without having been launched, although in the end there are many things between the rest of the products and this one.
And although Gurman clarified that it would be next year, he did not make a specific date clear, but everything indicates that it could be in June 2022 his presentation. All this within the framework of the WWDC 2022, this being a convention focused on developers. Predicting its release is already more complicated, having a more or less wide range between the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023.
Regarding the economic issue, exact figures have not been handled, but Gurman bet months ago that they will have a higher price than the competition, even being able exceed $ 1,000. It will obviously not be an unusual price for the brand, although you have to go back many years to find a precedent in which a new product line surpasses that three-digit barrier.
Another analyst even predicted the end of iPhones
Mark Gurman is not the only one who has poured juicy information on Apple’s AR helmets, as other analysts have been encouraged over the years to release reports. Some like Jon Prosser even claim to have seen prototypes of glasses, although this time he has not yet spoken. It was the Asian Ming-Chi Kuo who has unveiled Apple’s roadmap, in which they would pretend that AR devices will replace the iPhone in 10 years.
And although it is not clear if the AR helmet will be dependent on the iPhone, such as the Apple Watch for example, it seems that Apple’s optimism is such that in a decade they could be able to get rid of what is now its flagship range and that it represents more than 50% of their annual income. It is difficult to imagine it today, although it is far from impossible in light of what happened with the iPod, now relegated to a second and even third place in the company’s panorama after having been its saving product in the early 2000s.
