This year we have talked ad nauseam about Apple mixed reality glasses, waiting for a launch that has not yet materialized. The strongest clues point to the device making its long-awaited debut in 2023, and a new rumor indicates that its mass production will begin next March. However, the real novelty is that its initial availability would be much more limited than expected.
As reported DigiTimes, Apple’s mixed reality glasses will be assembled from the end of the first quarter of 2023. This work will be exclusive to Pegatron, one of the usual suppliers of the Cupertino firm. Furthermore, it indicates that the formal presentation of the device would take place in April.
But, as said at the beginning, the really remarkable fact is that the device would reach the market in much smaller quantities than originally expected. Specifically, it indicates that estimates of annual shipments today would be between 700,000 and 800,000 unitsa figure drastically lower than the 2.5 million that were considered in principle.
The aforementioned medium also indicates that Apple will direct its mixed reality glasses mainly to “commercial markets” —whatever that means—, and that its price will be high. “For manufacturers in the supply chain, who benefit from bulk orders, this is not a particularly profitable order,” he says.
Apple’s mixed reality glasses would have a very limited availability
If the data of DigiTimes are confirmed, the debut of Apple’s mixed reality glasses will be given with a very small sample. Note that “units shipped” is not the same as “units sold to the general public” as they represent the number of devices that reach the hands of distributors or retail stores.
In any case, it is not fully understood where the strategy of those led by Tim Cook would come from. Will this helmet be a product mostly designed for developers? Or does Apple want to test the waters with a small number of mixed reality headsets, waiting to increase availability based on demand? Today it is impossible to know, and everything that is said will be a simple matter of speculation.
What the report does say is that, despite not being the most profitable Apple product, your partners are willing to go deep. On the one hand, because they believe that it is the best way to show their technical capabilities and to be taken into account for future projects. On the other, because working for those on the block allows them to obtain financing more easily.
The new rumor around Apple’s mixed reality glasses strengthens the assumption that we will see them in action in 2023. However, it differs slightly compared to previous leaks. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, those from Cupertino could announce the product in January, with a view to launching it in the second quarter, close to WWDC. Whatever the case, Californians seem to be in the final stretch with a product that has been in development for more than 7 years, with endless setbacks.