Kuo: Apple Mixed Reality Headset Unlikely To Be Launched at WWDC 2022

There has been an on-going rumor in recent months that Apple will soon launch its mixed reality headset. But Apple had been mum on the possible release date of the device.

Despite recent references to Apple's new "realityOS" platform, it is unlikely for the company to announce its rumored mixed reality headset or its new AR/VR operating system at next week's WWDC, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

According to MacRumors, mass production of the device still some ways off. However, Kuo's tweet said that Apple might launch the mixed reality headset by 2023.

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Apple Takes Longer Release Time to Avoid Copycats

In a pair of tweets, Kuo said that it should take longer before Apple's AR/VR headset goes into mass production. With that, the analyst believes that it is unlikely that Apple will announce the device next week at WWDC 2022.

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It still takes some time before Apple AR/MR headset enters mass production, so I don't think Apple will release AR/MR headset and rumored realityOS at WWDC this year. Apple's competitors worldwide can't wait to see the hardware spec and OS design for Apple's AR/MR headset.
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) May 31, 2022

"It still takes some time before Apple AR/MR headset enters mass production, so I don't think Apple will release AR/MR headset and rumored realityOS at WWDC this year. Apple's competitors worldwide can't wait to see the hardware spec and OS design for Apple's AR/MR headset," Kuo posted on Twitter.

One of the reasons Kuo cited in his tweets is releasing it this June would give competitors enough time to copy the product's features.

"I'm sure that if Apple announces AR/MR headset and its OS at WWDC, competitors will immediately kick off copycat projects and happily copy Apple's excellent ideas, and hit the store shelves before Apple launches in 2023," Kuo said in another tweet.

The analyst sticks with his earlier prediction that the headset will hit stores in early 2023 instead of 2022.

According to MacRumors, Kuo's predictions are similar to the most recent report by Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman. He played down expectations that Apple would make a "full-blown announcement" of its headset at WWDC.

Likewise, Analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities also believes that the product will be delayed until the first quarter of 2023, as per 9to5Mac report.

RealityOS is Rumored to Run Mixed Reality Headset

Earlier this year, signs of "realityOS," the long-rumored operating system believed to run on Apple's mixed-reality headset, were first spotted in Apple source code, according to 9to5Mac.

Rumors of Apple announcing its headset sooner were heightened at the weekend when a trademark for "realityOS" surfaced. It has a foreign filing deadline of June 8, 2022, two days after the main WWDC keynote.

But according to Gurman and a practicing lawyer, the trademark filing date deadlines are a legal requirement.

Following several development problems, Gurman previously reported that the headset launch will likely be delayed until 2023. Problems include overheating from at least one chip on par with the M1 Pro and camera and software challenges.

According to Gurman, Mac-related announcements are reportedly more likely to be expected at WWDC this year. MacBook Air with M2 chip is one of the announcements expected from Apple.

If Apple will not announce the mixed reality headset at WWDC, one possibility is that Apple will announce the new device alongside the new iPhones in September, according to 9to5Mac.