While the launch of the mixed reality headset from Manzana It’s only a few months away some employees of the Cupertino, California-based company don’t seem to believe the device is ready yetaccording to a report from The New York Times.
“Some employees left the project due to doubts, others remain skeptical of the headphones’ potential for success, especially at a price tag of $3,000.″, reveals the report, quoted in a report by The Verge.
According to Mark Gurman of BloombergApple recently demoed the device in front of Apple’s top 100 executives at the Steve Jobs Theater in California, “suggesting a public unveiling is coming up.”
Apple is expected to reveal the headphones at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.
Apple and the voice of the skeptics
The Times suggests that there has been some internal turmoil over the future of mixed reality headsets at Apple. While that seems pretty normal any time a company ventures into an entirely new product category, the report says things are different this time.
“Some internal skeptics have questioned whether the new device is a fix in search of a problem.. Unlike the iPod, which put digital songs in people’s pockets, and the iPhone, which combined the capabilities of a music player and a phone, headphones haven’t been driven by the same clarity”.
Part of this uncertainty has been driven by a series of executive departures in the product design team, beginning with Jony Ive in 2019 and then followed by the departure of his successor, Evans Hankey, last year. Apple hasn’t named a new head of industrial design since then, reportedly leaving engineer Mike Rockwell in charge of headphone development.
According to the New York Times, doubts from both Apple employees and management have some workers wondering if the company will postpone the launch of the headphones. However, this does not appear to be the case as manufacturing of the device and launch in June are still ongoing.