CALIFORNIA – Apple appears to be on the verge of unveiling a headset that has long been rumored to place its users between the virtual and real worlds, while also testing the tech trendsetter’s ability to popularize hot gadgets after that others failed to capture the public imagination.
After years of speculation, the stage is set for the widely anticipated announcement to be made Monday at Apple’s annual developer conference in a theater in Cupertino, California, named after the company’s late co-founder Steve Jobs. Apple is also likely to use the event to show off its latest Mac computer, preview the upcoming iPhone operating system and discuss its strategy for artificial intelligence.
But the star of the show is expected to be a pair of glasses, perhaps dubbed “Reality Pro” according to media leaks, which could become another milestone in Apple’s tradition of releasing revolutionary technology, even if the company doesn’t always do so. has done.
THE COST OF POSSIBLE NEW HEADPHONES FROM APPLE
Apple’s lineage of advancements dates back to a bow-tie-wearing Jobs selling the first Mac in 1984, a tradition that continued with the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2010, the Apple Watch in 2014, and its AirPods. in 2016.
But with a hefty price tag that could be in the $3,000 range, Apple’s new earphones may also be met with a lukewarm reception by all but well-heeled technophiles.
If the new device turns out to be a niche product, it would leave Apple in the same bind as other big tech companies and startups that have tried to sell headphones or glasses equipped with technology that pushes people into artificial worlds or projects digital images onto landscapes. . and things that are actually in front of them, a format known as “augmented reality.”
Last year, the main Apple Music Awards went to three artists: Olivia Rodrigo, HER and The Weeknd. This year, there is only one: Bad Bunny.
THE ANTICIPATED NEW APPLE GLASSES
Apple’s glasses are expected to have a sleek design and be able to toggle between fully virtual and augmented options, a combination sometimes referred to as “mixed reality.” That flexibility is also sometimes called external reality, or XR for short.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been describing these alternate three-dimensional realities as the “metaverse.” It’s a geeky concept that he tried to push into the mainstream by renaming his social media company Meta Platforms in 2021 and then pouring billions of dollars into improving the virtual technology.
But the metaverse is still very much a digital ghost town, though Meta’s virtual reality headset, the Quest, remains the best-selling device in a category that has so far mostly appealed to gamers looking for even more exciting experiences. immersive
Apple said on Sunday that COVID-19 restrictions in China will reduce iPhone 14 production capacity at the main assembly plant in Zhengzhou.
VIRTUAL REALITY
Apple executives are likely to avoid referring to the metaverse, given the skepticism that has quickly developed around that term, when discussing the potential of the company’s new headphones.
In recent years, Apple CEO Tim Cook has regularly touted augmented reality as the next quantum leap in technology, without setting a specific timetable for when it will gain mass appeal.
“If you look back at a point in time, you know, you go far into the future and you look back, and you’ll wonder how you lived your life without augmented reality,” Cook, 62, said last September while speaking with an audience of students in Italy. “Just like today, you wonder how people like me grew up without the Internet. You know, so I think it could be that deep. And it’s not going to be deep overnight.”
Apple on Monday increased the monthly and yearly subscription prices for its Apple TV+ and Apple Music streaming services.
GOOGLE GLASSES
The response to virtual, augmented, and mixed reality has been decidedly boring so far. Some of the devices that implement the technology have even been mocked, the most notable example being Google’s Internet-connected glasses launched more than a decade ago.
After Google co-founder Sergey Brin sparked excitement for the device by demonstrating the potential “wow factor” of an early model with a skydiving stunt performed during a tech conference in San Francisco, consumers quickly turned off the device. a product that allowed its users to surreptitiously take photos and video. The backlash became so intense that people using the equipment became known as “Glassholes”, leading Google to withdraw the product a few years after it debuted.
HOLOLENS Y MAGIC LEAP
Microsoft has also had limited success with HoloLens, a mixed-reality headset released in 2016, though the software maker earlier this year insisted it remains committed to the technology.
Magic Leap, a startup that generated buzz with advances in a mixed-reality technology that could conjure the spectacle of a whale crashing through a gym floor, had such trouble marketing its first headset to consumers in 2018 that it has since changed its name. focus on industrial, sanitary and emergency uses.
Daniel Diez, director of transformation at Magic Leap, said there are four main questions that Apple’s glasses will have to answer: “What can people do with them? What does this thing look and feel like? Is it comfortable to wear? And how much is it going to cost?
We tell you the details.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM APPLE’S ALLEGED NEW GLASSES
The anticipation that Apple’s glasses will sell for several thousand dollars has already lowered expectations for the product. While he expects Apple’s glasses to feature “amazing” technology, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said he expects the company to sell just 150,000 units during the device’s first year on the market, a mere speck in the portfolio. of the company. By comparison, Apple sells more than 200 million iPhones, its flagship product each year. But the iPhone wasn’t an immediate sensation, selling fewer than 12 million units in its first full year on the market.
THE NEXT QUEST HEADPHONE
In a move apparently aimed at raising the expected price of Apple’s glasses, Zuckerberg said last week that the next Quest headset will sell for $500, an announcement made four months before Meta Platform plans to showcase the latest device at its tech conference. . .
Since 2016, average annual shipments of virtual and augmented reality headsets have averaged 8.6 million units, according to research firm CCS Insight. The firm expects sales to remain low this year, with projected sales of around 11 million devices before gradually rising to 67 million in 2026.
APPLE COULD ALTER THE LANDSCAPE
But those forecasts were obviously made before it was known whether Apple could launch a landscape-altering product.
“I would never discount Apple, especially with the consumer market and especially when it comes to finding those amazing apps and solutions,” said Magic Leap’s Diez. “If someone is going to conquer the consumer market early, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Apple.”
