According to Devdiscourse, after years of speculation, the developer conference stage - WWDC 2023 is ready for the arrival of Apple's long-awaited device. The company can also use the event to showcase the latest Mac computer model, iOS 17, and discuss the company's strategy for artificial intelligence (AI).
Apple glasses appear when mixed reality has not yet received great attention from consumers
The biggest star of the show is the mixed reality headset, rumored to be called Reality Pro. It could turn out to be another major game-changing milestone for Apple, although the company isn't always the first to bring that product to market. But with a hefty price tag that can run up to $3.000, Apple's glasses are unlikely to be warmly received by everyone, mostly wealthy tech connoisseurs.
The product is expected to have a sleek design and the ability to switch between virtual and augmented reality options, a combination known as "mixed reality". Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg once described this kind of holographic reality as the “metaverse” – a bold concept he tried to bring into the mainstream by renaming Facebook to Meta Platforms in 2021 and pouring billions of dollars into improving virtual technology, though the company has yet to succeed.
Apple executives seem to avoid mentioning the metaverse due to rapid skepticism about the term as they discuss the potential for the company's new glasses. In recent years, Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly referred to augmented reality as the next leap for technology, although he did not set a specific timeline for when it will reach mass users.
“If you look back at some point in time, you know, zoom into the future and look back, you wonder how you lived your life without augmented reality,” Cook said last September when speaking to an audience of students in Italy.
He added: “Like today, you wonder how people like me grew up without the internet. That's why I think augmented reality can be so profound. Of course it won't deepen overnight." This makes complete sense so far, the response to virtual, augmented and mixed reality has been moderate. Some devices that implement this technology have even been mocked, with the most notable example being the internet-connected glasses released by Google more than a decade ago.
Tech giants lost billions of dollars after the metaverse failed
After Google co-founder Sergey Brin hinted at the incredible potential of this early device at a technology conference in San Francisco (USA), consumers quickly turned away from the product, thinking it would allow stealthy photography and video recording. The reaction became so intense that the wearers of the device became known as "Glassholes," prompting Google to recall the product a few years later.
Microsoft also enjoyed limited success with its HoloLens mixed reality glasses released in 2016, claiming to remain committed to the technology earlier this year. Meanwhile, startup Magic Leap struggled to market its first VR headset to consumers in 2018 so the company shifted its focus to industrial, medical, and emergency use.
Given the difficulties combined with over-predicted selling prices, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives believes Apple will only sell about 150.000 Reality Pro units in its first year on the market. That's a pretty small number compared to the company's 200 million iPhones a year. However, experts also say that Apple cannot be underestimated, especially in the consumer market, where products from the company can always change the game.
