According to information from a well-known supply chain analyst, Apple’s VR headset is set to shake up the industry big time.
Apple’s virtual reality headset has been the subject of a few rumours in recent months, and now Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is providing new fodder. He recently published a (article on Medium) in which he goes into more detail about the future of the VR industry in general and Apple’s place in it specifically.
Kuo is a well-known leaker who is particularly knowledgeable about the company’s supply chains and draws his conclusions from them. He calls Apple’s entry into the VR world a game changer
for this field and assumes that suitable hardware will be presented as early as January 2023.
Apple itself is expected to focus more specifically on Augmenting Reality
or Mixed Reality
headsets that allow you to see your real surroundings. Kuo, however, expects Apple to provide a strong boost to the industry as a whole.
Meta makes way for Apple
Kuo expects Apple’s headset to be a smashing success. Part of the analysis is based on Meta (formerly Facebook) scaling down its investments in hardware. This means that the company should produce fewer headsets in the future. The reason is said to be the fear of a recession hitting Meta’s core business, i.e. advertising and social media.
Since Meta sells its headsets at a loss in order to get as many devices as possible into circulation, the company is dependent on the core business making a profit. If that is no longer the case or to a lesser extent, budgets for the unprofitable VR headsets could be cut first.
Kuo sees this as an opportunity for other VR headset manufacturers to take over market share. At the same time, he speaks of rapid growth over the past two to three years, thanks in part to Meta’s investments to date. Coupled with potentially high demand in China and Apple’s entry, he predicts strong growth will continue overall.
Apple becomes industry leader
Kuo didn’t have details on Apple’s headset. We don’t know what screens will be built in or what materials the headset will be made of. But he is sure that Apple will drive the industry:
“I think Apple’s global competitors will emulate the headset, which will take the headset hardware industry into the next phase of rapid growth and drive the associated ecosystem of services and content”
We’ll hopefully find out more details about Apple’s hardware in January 2023. By then, however, Apple might not only be working on the VR headset, but also its own handheld console.
Are you excited about Apple’s AR/MR/VR glasses or virtual reality in general? Could Apple have a game changer here or are you more critical? Feel free to let us know
