‘Apple CEO wants to release MR headset this year despite design team objections’

Apple CEO Tim Cook still wants to release his mixed reality headset this year despite objections from his design team. Insiders report this to the Financial Times. The design team would like to wait until it is possible to produce lighter AR glasses.

Apple’s operations team wants to release a so-called V1 product as the first product of Apple’s AR and VR division, writes the FT based on information from insiders. That would be the mixed reality headset that has been rumored for years. However, Apple’s design team disagrees. According to the FT, that team wants to wait until it is technically possible to produce lighter AR glasses, which better fits the company’s vision, but could still take years.

Apple CEO Cook has now joined the operations team and chief operating officer Jeff Williams. According to insiders, the CEO still wants to release the headset this year, despite the objections of his design team and although this will be an expensive device that would be less attractive to consumers. The company would like to gradually improve from there. According to the FT, Apple expects to sell one million MR headsets in the first year, a number that is lower than the first generation iPhone and Apple Watch.

There have been reports going around for years about the arrival of a mixed reality headset from Apple. This device, which Apple would like to release under the name ‘Reality’, is rumored to have a suggested retail price of $3,000. The glasses would look like a ski goggles-like headset that allows users to watch 3D videos, perform interactive workouts or chat with realistic avatars via a revamped FaceTime. With its mixed reality design, it would become VR glasses that can also show AR-like images via cameras.

The FT reports that the project has been in the works for seven years and that disagreement over its release has been going on since the beginning. Former employees who worked on the project say the pressure to release the glasses is “tremendously high” after their unveiling has been postponed several times in recent years.

Drawing of what the Apple headset could look like based on descriptions from anonymous sources. Source: The Information