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

Despite objections from his design team, Apple CEO Tim Cook wants to release his mixed reality headset this year. 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 take years.

Apple CEO Cook has now joined 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 its first year, a number lower than the first-generation iPhone and Apple Watch.

Reports have been circulating 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 goggles would look like a ski goggle-style headset that would allow users to watch 3D videos, conduct interactive workouts or chat with realistic avatars through an updated 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 the disagreement over its release has been going on since the beginning. Former employees who worked on the project say the pressure to release the goggles is “extremely high” after their unveiling has been delayed several times in recent years.

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