Apple product we’ve all been waiting for

It keeps hitting snags but, after a string of setbacks, Apple is confident one of its most anticipated products will reach shelves this year.

Delays expected for Apple product we’ve all been waiting for.

Tech giant Apple is reportedly set to launch its mixed-reality headset in the first half of 2023, with consumers able to take one home before the year’s end.

Bloomberg reports that deliveries will begin by the end of the year.

Last week, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the latest addition to Apple’s range revised the release date for the company’s most-anticipated product in recent years.

Originally expected to be announced in January, Mr Kuo confirmed an issue in testing and development had pushed back its arrival date.

Concept art for an Apple VR/AR/MR headset. Picture: Antonio De Rosa/Instagram

“Apple’s AR/MR headset development is behind schedule due to issues with mechanical component drop testing and the availability of software development tools, meaning that mass shipment of this device may postpone from the original 2Q23 to the end of 2Q23 or 3Q23,” he tweeted.

“As a result, it is increasingly unlikely that Apple will hold a media event for the new device in January.

“At this point, it seems more likely that Apple will announce the AR/MR headset at a spring media event or WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) based on the current development progress.”

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Apple's AR/MR headset development is behind schedule due to issues with mechanical component drop testing and the availability of software development tools, meaning that mass shipment of this device may postpone from the original 2Q23 to the end of 2Q23 or 3Q23. https://t.co/YitWBWxbRI

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) January 6, 2023

The product, when it arrives, is expected to become a significant competitor for Meta’s emerging Metaverse and its Meta-branded virtual reality headsets.

Not surprisingly, details are scarce, but speculators say the Apple headset, expected to be called ‘Reality Pro’, could cost between $2890 and $4335 and will boast 10 cameras or more on the exterior and interior and will run on an operating system called xrOS.

Apple’s MR headset is set to rival Meta’s VR products. Picture: Antonio De Rosa/Instagram

The headset will reportedly facilitate mixed reality adaptations of Apple’s Messages, FaceTime and Maps apps.

Unlike Meta’s Quest virtual reality headsets, the Apple headsets will augment the user’s environment rather than fully immersing them in a computer-generated space.

As for other Apple updates coming in 2023, Bloomberg tech insiders say we shouldn’t expect much other than minor updates to its range of phones, tablets and computers as the company’s capital shifts towards getting its mixed reality headsets out.