WWDC 2022: We aren’t going to see Apple’s mixed reality headset immediately

As we get closer to Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2022, there’s been a lot of speculation about what we might see at the keynote. Besides software update announcements involving iOS 16, macOS 13, watchOS 9, iPadOS 16 and others, it is also being tipped that Apple might show off a redesigned MacBook Air along with its mixed reality (AR/VR) headset.

Rumours about this headset have been flying thick and fast recently, particularly with references to Apple’s new realityOS, the platform that the headset is going to work on. Information like this, and the fact that the company’s board of directors have reportedly seen the device, had most thinking that June 6 is when we’re finally going to see something.

However, if analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s information is anything to go by, that’s not going to happen. Despite all rumours and speculations, we might not see the mixed reality headset being announced at WWDC 2022.

Kuo recently tweeted that it was going to take Apple longer to send the AR/VR headset into mass production and that it is “unlikely” that Apple will announce the device next week.

According to Kuo, one of the reasons Apple is not going to show a preview of the headset on June 6 is that it would “give competitors enough time to copy the product’s features”. He maintained his earlier prediction that we might see the headset hitting stores by early 2023, and not this year.

Kuo is not the first analyst to say that we are going to see Apple’s headset in stores by 2023. Analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities also believes that the AR/VR headset is going to be delayed till at least the first quarter of 2023. However, Apple is expected to announce the product in late 2022.

But in a build-up of sorts, iOS 16, which is going to be announced at WWDC, is expected to introduce new AR/VR tech as a basis for Apple’s mixed reality headset.

The realityOS trademark has been registered in multiple countries already by a company associated with Apple, and developers have also found references to a platform named “RealityOS” in App Store logs. This added to the report that since Apple’s board of directors has already seen the product - it means that the headset is close to being announced. It is happening, but it is not happening yet.

Also Read: WWDC 2022: Apple might reveal MacBook Air and macOS design changes on June 6

Also Read: WWDC 2022: Apple expected to showcase enhanced lock screen, redesigned Mac apps