Apple's Reality Pro Headset Rumored to Be Delayed Until Later This Year

It is something of an open secret that Apple is developing a mixed-reality headset to compete with the Meta Quest and the Microsoft HoloLens, but it looks like the official launch is still a ways off.

Reports indicate that the unnamed headset was going to be revealed at the company’s Spring launch event, but that is no longer in the cards, according to securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Instead, the analyst suggests that the headset will release alongside the iPhone 15 in the fall or at some other point toward the end of the year.

What’s the holdup? This is a new industry segment for Apple, and, as previously seen with the original Watch launch, they want to get it right. To that end, Kuo indicates that the headset is behind schedule due to mechanical component drop testing concerns. In other words, they are unsure if each headset component is durable enough for widespread release.

There is also some slowdown on the software end of things, as the headset requires an entirely new software platform, and Kuo says there have been issues regarding the availability of crucial software development tools. 

The headset, dubbed Apple Reality Pro by industry speculators, has had a long and bumpy road on its way to launch, having been delayed multiple times throughout the past few years. Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman says Apple is likely to officially unveil the product at the WWDC event in June.