According to respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, rumors have long been circulating that Apple’s mixed-reality headphones, which will offer a combination of augmented and virtual reality experiences, will “likely” be released in January 2023. In a new analyst note seen by 9to5Mac, Kuo notes that headphones are “the most complicated product Apple has ever designed,” but that their launch could help drive “rapid growth” in the head-mounted display market .
This is far from the first time Kuo predicts when Apple’s headphones could be launched, but previous predictions have had much wider launch windows. Last year he said we could see the headphones released sometime in 2022 (which now seems unlikely), and just this month he predicted that a launch could arrive sometime in the second quarter of next year. This doesn’t guarantee a January announcement (Apple’s plans could change or Kuo’s supply chain sources could be wrong), but listing a specific month is a strong sign of analyst confidence.
Apple headphones might look like this. Image: The Information
It also coincides with a lot of activity reported around Apple headphones. The company’s board of directors tested the headphones in early May, mentions of RealityOS headset software appear in Apple’s code and appear in trademark applications, and Apple CEO Tim Cook made a recent mockery of the upcoming augmented reality announcements.
Numerous reports over the years have attempted to shed light on Apple’s difficult headphones. According to a recent report in The Information, it will function as a standalone device instead of needing it connected to a computer, and could have up to 14 cameras to track its movement. Inside, it is reported that it will have a processor with a similar amount of processing power to the M1 chips found in recent Macs, although when it comes to power it is unclear whether its battery will be able to carry the user body or integrated into the headphones.
While Kuo predicts that Apple is about to make a big impact in the mixed-reality headset space, it expects its main competitor Meta to take a step back, 9to5Mac reports. Kuo expects the company formerly known as Facebook to reduce its short-term investment in virtual reality hardware to focus on its advertising business. This is despite the fact that Meta has recently shown a large number of virtual reality headset prototypes that it is working on.