While people are hyped up about the Apple September event, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman is back with more information regarding the upcoming Mixed Reality headset. Gurman doesn’t expect any announcement this week about this new product category, but his Power On newsletter is full of new information about Apple’s plans.
According to him, Apple is developing three new headsets code-named N301, N602, and N421. The first headset which Apple will unveil will likely be called Apple Reality Pro. This will be a Mixed Reality headset and “will probably end up being the company’s high-end rival to Meta’s upcoming Quest Pro.”
In January, I had heard that Apple was discussing calling the headset either Apple Reality or Apple Vision. It now appears that the company has landed on some version of Apple Reality as the name.
The device has been in development for years and will blend augmented reality with virtual reality. Apple will release the headset in 2023, with a lighter-weight AR-only version coming in later years.
Early last week, a shell company tied to Apple filed trademarks for some “Reality” names in several countries. Some of these could be the name of future Apple Headsets, as 9to5Mac covered.
The N602 model will be the successor to the first model “and may be a bit lower cost.” In July, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo talked about the second generation of Apple’s MR headset. 9to5Mac‘s Filipe Espósito wrote:
As reported by Kuo on his personal blog, Apple has already been talking to its suppliers as the company is working on the second generation of its AR/VR headset. It’s expected to come in two different models. The first will be an upgrade to the first-generation headset with better hardware and the other will be a more affordable model.
Due to its complexity and high-end hardware, analysts believe that Apple’s new headset will be priced too high. It’s no surprise that Apple will eventually bring the new AR/VR experience to more people with a less expensive model, as the company has been doing the same with entry-level models of the iPhone and iPad.
Last but not least, the N421 model is “Apple’s long-held dream of augmented reality glasses,” according to Gurman, although he doesn’t believe it will launch anytime soon.
Rumors have been around for years that Apple plans enter a new market niche. While the Apple Car is a few years away, it seems the AR/VR category is the one the Cupertino company is aiming for now.
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