— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) December 4, 2022 The headset and an SDK (Software Development Kit) for programmers to make AR/VR apps for the device could be unveiled by Apple at Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2023 in June. In a previous report, Kuo said that Apple intended to introduce the headgear during a media event in January and start mass distribution in the second quarter of 2023. Although Kuo is unclear if the delay would cause the January announcement to be postponed, he did point out that an excessively long time lag between a media event and bulk shipments might harm sales. A most recent report claims that Apple has developed a new operating system called xrOS and intends to introduce its first augmented reality headgear within the next calendar year. The company had previously said that it will refer to the operating system as “realityOS,” but as the unveiling date draws near, it seems that several components of the head-mounted wearable have changed. Bloomberg suggests that the development of augmented reality headgear has reportedly sped up, and there is a possibility that the name of the operating system, which is now xrOS, may be changed. Apple did modify the name of the operating system to xrOS, however, in part so that people could recognize the types of material that might be shown via the AR headset. Extended reality is denoted by the letters “XR,” which implies that the device will be able to run mixed reality material, which includes augmented and virtual reality. According to Kuo, Apple would sell less than 500,000 headsets in 2023, making its headgear a costly niche product. Since the product is still in the pre-production stage, it is in your best interest to wait until more information is available.
