Apple to Replace iPhone with AR Headsets Within 10 Years

Apple is believed to be targeting a 10-year plan to transition away from the iPhone and support AR. This was a prediction covered in the latest research note from TF International Securities Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

According to Kuo, Apple will start to transition away from the iPhone, the company’s flagship device and pursue a future in supporting AR. Of course, as noted by 9to5Mac, that future is widely supported by the success of Apple’s AR headset and acceptance of AR technology.

Apple’s goal is to replace the iPhone with AR in ten years, representing the demand for ABF of AR headsets will exceed at least one billion pieces in ten years. Apple’s sole ABF supplier, Unimicron, will be the leading beneficiary.

Apple is currently one of the world’s most valued companies. This is in part due to the overwhelming success the iPhone has seen across the globe. As of now, there are currently over one billion iPhone users. Kuo states that if Apple wants to replace the iPhone with AR, it will have to sell “at least” 1 billion AR devices in 10 years. Apple is suggested to also enable the AR headset to work with a “wide range” of applications rather than specific apps.

Currently, there are more than one billion active iPhone users. If Apple’s goal is to replace the iPhone with AR in ten years, it means Apple will sell at least one billion AR devices in ten years.

A transition of this magnitude would redefine Apple as a company. Analysts have long predicted that the days of the iPhone may be numbered as Apple has begun shifting toward support services like Apple One as heavily as it does hardware and software.

Of course, this all comes down to how much of an impact the first AR headset has. Kuo stated that the first-generation AR device from Apple is due in late 2022. It’s believed that the headset will be independent of other devices such as a Mac or iPhone and will have the processing power that’s compatible with Apple’s M1 chip.

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