For years, Apple has been rumoured to be working on technology that sees AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) come together to make an MR (mixed reality) headset. The headset is expected to launch in June 2023 at the WWDC event and we nearly have complete details on how it will work thanks to an earlier report. Apple may yet to even acknowledge the existence of this upcoming headset, but prominent Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has now suggested that the company could release its successor in 2025. In a blog post on Friday, Kuo said that Apple plans to release “low-end” and “high-end” second-generation AR/MR headsets in 2025. While the original Apple MR headset is expected to be priced around $3,000 – a far cry from the Meta Quest Pro’s $1,099 price tag – the second generation will include a more affordable model. This would help Apple tap into a wider user base that may not be willing to spend thousands of dollars on the first generation of the headset. The idea of Apple launching two headsets – a premium model alongside an affordable option – isn’t alien. The company already offers Pro models with non-Pro models to go with them for nearly its entire catalogue of products, be it the iPhones, the MacBooks, and the AirPods. It indicates that Apple may be employing a similar strategy as it does for its other product ranges. As for how Apple will trim down the price of the affordable headset, it remains anyone’s best guess. The first-gen MR headset is supposedly something of a sensory titan. Reports suggest that it will feature 15 cameras, with 8 of them being for AR, 1 for environmental detection, and 6 for biometrics. The second-gen affordable variant may cut down on some of these to bring the price down, but then again that’s only speculation at this point. Kuo also stated in the blog post that Luxcaseict – a joint venture between Pegatron and Luxshare – and Foxconn will develop and manufacture the headsets.
