Apple’s upcoming Mixed Reality (MR) headset could set buyers back with over $2,000 as it is looking for a day to ship. Reports are claiming that components, in addition to a long and demanding development process may end up justifying the elusive MSRP.
Reports mentioning the supposed price of the headset have ranged from $1,000 – $3,000 and it has been reported from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that internal discussions at Apple have set the price-point as “over $2,000”. And even though this price is higher than the average Apple product for consumers, the company may do so due to “some of its internal technologies”.
To remind readers, the headset is according to Mark Gurman, featuring two processors similar to the M1 Pro SoC, on a 5nm process, 8K viewing panels, two in Micro-LED and one in AMOLED. Some other features are prescription-lens options and “advanced audio”. The need for an M1 Pro-equivalent is to match and exceed the performance needed for current-gen VR experiences, and experiences that may release in the future.
As for the name of the headset, Gurman has theorized a couple of names. Some are Apple Vision, Apple Spectacles, and Apple Glass, with the latter two taking inspiration from competitors Snap and Google respectively. iSight and iVision are two other suggestions, but there are many others in the running. As Gurman said in his Power On newsletter:
«For an Apple headset, the process may be a little trickier. Obvious names like Glass or Spectacles have already been used by the likes of Google and Snap Inc. (Google Glass was considered a flop, and Snap Spectacles are still a work in progress.) So I think you can rule those out.»
The focus for Apple in developing this headset is, according to Gurman, gaming, with it mainly being a development platform for VR game developers; “a dream for game developers”. For entertainment purposes Apple may work with media like Disney+ and Netflix, to create streaming solutions for this headset. It is also expected that Animojis and FaceTime will have prominence with the headset.
