Apple Mixed Reality Headset Expected to be Revealed in January With a Release Prior to WWDC 2023

Apple’s WWDC 2022 keynote gave us a fairly solidified answer as to whether or not its long-rumoured mixed reality headset would be released sometime this year. While the company revealed the 2022 MacBook Air and iOS 16, Apple was tight-lipped on its headset.

TF International Securities Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo walked away from the keynote with a fairly strong belief that the headset is being postponed to Q2 2023. Recently, Kuo claimed that the headset would not be shown at WWDC 2022 due to it having a tentative 2023 release. Turns out, Kuo was correct. The analyst also broke down a rough timeline of what he believes Apple’s production and release schedule will look like.

(1/2)
I believe Apple’s AR/MR headset shipping date will postpone to 2Q23 (vs. 1Q23 of market consensus) because Shanghai lockdown interrupts the development. As expected, there were no clues for AR/MR headset at WWDC 2022. Here is my prediction for Apple AR/MR headset schedule.

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) June 7, 2022

Kuo believes that the Apple headset will enter its engineering validation test (EVT) phase sometime in Q3 2022. Following that, a media event is expected to be held sometime in January of 2023. Here, this will be the first look official reveal of the headset. Two to four weeks after the event, Kuo believes Apple will begin delivering the toolkit for the headset. Preorders are believed to fall in Q2 2023 with a release sometime before WWDC 2023.

(2/2)
1. EVT starting from 3Q22.
2. Media event on Jan 2023.
3. Delivery of development toolkit within 2-4 weeks after the event.
4. Starting pre-order in 2Q23.
5. Hitting store shelves before WWDC 2023.

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) June 7, 2022

If all goes according to Kuo’s predictions, we may be able to strap the Apple mixed reality headset onto our heads by this time next year. This may be a good thing in hindsight considering the more premium price tag the headset is estimated to have. As it may support premium features such as dual 8K displays, Apple’s M1 chip, and more, analysts believe the headset will release at roughly $3,000 USD.