Sources: Apple last week demoed its mixed reality headset, likely dubbed Reality Pro or Reality One, for its top ~100 executives, ahead of their annual offsite

Apple's push into mixed reality will take years to pay off, with the company hoping the device follows the same trajectory as its smartwatch.

Bloomberg 2023-03-27 Mark Gurman

Context & Ripple Effects

Apple’s headset effort has moved through several internal checkpoints: a board preview of the upcoming device in 2022, followed by a reported ramp-up of development around xrOS. Reporting in January had also pointed to a spring unveiling ahead of WWDC.

Showing the product to a much broader senior-leadership group makes the project more than a contained product-development effort. It is an internal readiness milestone for a new device category that Apple itself expects to require a long payoff period.

First-order effects

Apple’s senior leadership gains direct exposure to the headset before its annual offsite, concentrating product and launch decisions around a shared view of the device.
The demo reinforces the reported path toward a spring introduction before WWDC, increasing the importance of developer-facing software and platform preparation.

Second-order effects

Developers and prospective content partners get a clearer signal that Apple’s extended-reality platform is approaching a public launch, even though the reported business case remains long-term.
Rival headset makers and platform operators face added pressure to distinguish their hardware, software libraries, and developer tools as Apple prepares to enter the category.

Third-order effects

If Apple sustains the effort, mixed reality could increasingly be shaped by the same integrated hardware, operating-system, and developer-platform model that governs other Apple product categories.
The key structural test is whether a premium new device can create recurring software and services activity over time; the report explicitly indicates that payoff is not expected quickly.

The trend: The demo is one step in the broader shift from experimental mixed-reality hardware toward tightly integrated, ecosystem-led computing platforms.

Discussion

@value_invest12 @value_invest12 on x
Apple hopes for an Apple Watch type trajectory for its AR glasses. Basically acknowledging it's crappy at this point. Did the Apple Watch also start at $3000? They nevertheless plan to sell 1 million of those uncomfortable glasses with a battery on your waist that needs to be... …
@lukew Luke Wroblewski on x
So the conversation shifts from AI to AR in a few months? https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@business @business on x
Apple expects its mixed-reality push to take years to pay off, following a similar playbook as its smartwatch, @markgurman reports in this week's Power On https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@trippmickle Tripp Mickle on x
Apple employees usually march toward the launch of new devices with the single-mindedness of a moon mission. But ahead of the release of its AR/VR headset, it's facing something different internally: skepticism. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@yoda Drew Olanoff on x
AR/VR is a casualty of two things: Facebook and the pandemic. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
Wait til those ex-employees hear stories about a mobile phone that was “too expensive” or that ridiculous microcomputer costing over $2500 at launch in 1984 that got the co-founder fired.
@scobleizer Robert Scoble on x
I am doubting everything now. If you are at any tech company and you aren't working on AI-built or assisted products you should worry. The headset is just the best place to interact with things AI generated. If you are an employee at a tech company that doesn't get that you... ht…
@scottnover Scott Nover on x
Who has an extra $3000 to spend on gadgets right now? https://twitter.com/...
@anthony Anthony DeRosa on x
Apple is expected to unveil augmented reality headsets in June. Leaders at Apple have questioned the product's prospects. Morale has been strained by a wave of design team departures, including longtime design chief Jony Ive. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@benjysarlin Benjy Sarlin on x
Every other product now is Gen X CEOs who loved Snow Crash working backwards off it. It was one book 30 years ago, people don't want most of it in reality, there's other sci-fi shit to spend billions on! https://twitter.com/...
@kt_so_it_goes @kt_so_it_goes on x
["It features a carbon fiber frame, a hip pack with battery support..."] hold on fellas I'm just strapping on my fanny pack and switching to my special glasses and I'll join you in the metaverse
@chrisfralic Chris Fralic on x
The headset looks like ski goggles, a hip pack with battery, outward cameras to capture the real world and two 4K displays to render everything from apps to movies. turn a “reality dial” on the device to increase or decrease real-time video from the world https://www.nytimes.com/…
@parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on x
Doesn't instill confidence that Siri is reportedly terrible on the headset. Particularly seeing VR/AR become less important as LLMs advance and assistants take hold again. https://twitter.com/...

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