Seasoned industry supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now says that Apple’s mixed reality headset will launch as soon as January 2023.

Kuo published a Medium post that outlines some points on the direction the industry is taking and concludes Apple is likely preparing for an early 2023 launch for its long-rumored mixed reality headset.

In the post, Kuo writes that Meta’s cuts in VR hardware investment as a result of the looming recession will benefit other VR hardware manufacturers with the continuous growth in the industry. Some of the manufacturers that are currently playing catch-up are likely to get a slice of the Meta market. These include key players such as Valve, Sony, HTC, Pico, and Valve.

Kuo writes that China still has a massive potential demand for virtual reality headsets and that this demand will likely be filled by companies with ready access to the Chinese market like ByteDance’s Pico Interactive and Taiwan’s HTC.

Apple is one of the companies slated to fill in the growing demand for VR/XR headsets as Meta pulls back or pauses projects. Kuo writes that Apple’s upcoming N301 mixed reality headset will “likely release in January 2023.” Kuo also says that the Apple headset and the Chinese demand will likely “favor the continued rapid growth of the headset sector.” He adds that the headset is “the most complicated product Apple has ever designed.”

Kuo believes Apple’s AR/MR headset’s supporting video see-thru could also provide users with an excellent immersive experience even though the company has insisted its focus is on AR. Kuo believes the launch of the Apple headset will increase the “proven” demand for immersive gaming/multimedia entertainment. The VR industry has also shown a clear trend of continuous growth and this will continue even as Meta rolls back some of its investments.

Meta is currently selling its virtual reality headsets at a loss and using its aggressive pricing strategy to grab much of the market share. However, this strategy is unsustainable over the long haul due to the risk of recession in its core business of advertising and social platform. This will, thus, benefit other VR headset brands in the market.

Kuo also writes about emerging structural changes in the VR headset industry such as: –

  • Meta’s cutbacks in VR hardware investments will benefit other “existing” virtual reality headset brands.
  • China virtual reality industry initially lagged behind that of overseas markets but the country seeing rapid growth in its VR hardware and content/service markets.
  • Industry growth will benefit from the establishment of the Metaverse Standards Forum.
  • Apple is a “gamechanger” in the industry.

For more details, read Ming-Chi Kuo’s Medium post.

https://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Apple-logo-600x350.jpghttps://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Apple-logo-150x90.jpgKristin HummelAppleBusinessSeasoned industry supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now says that Apple’s mixed reality headset will launch as soon as January 2023. Kuo published a Medium post that outlines some points on the direction the industry is taking and concludes Apple is likely preparing for an early 2023 launch for its...VR, Oculus Rift, and Metaverse News - Cryptocurrency, Adult, Sex, Porn, XXX