Apple is about to launch the Reality Pro headset, which is a mixed-reality product that combines augmented reality and virtual reality. It is reported that the device will be officially released at the WWDC conference next month, but compared with Apple’s original vision, the Reality Pro headset has many compromises and shortcomings, and even some Apple executives are skeptical about its potential. Apple CEO Tim Cook also lacked active participation in the project.
Apple has been working on two different augmented reality products: the Reality Pro headset, which combines AR and VR technology and looks like ski goggles and requires an external battery pack; and the Apple Glasses, a lightweight, unobtrusive headset. devices that look like ordinary glasses. But according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple CEO Tim Cook actually wants to prioritize Apple Glasses, while development is increasingly focused on the headset.
According to Gurman’s report, “According to multiple sources involved in the project, the product Tim Cook will show has deviated from his original vision. Originally imagined a pair of low-profile glasses that can be worn all day, and Apple’s device instead becomes a headset that requires a separate battery pack… After initially setting the goal of making lightweight augmented reality glasses, Apple gradually shifted due to technical limitations, market requirements, and internal disagreements. something more like an existing device.” The report also said there were doubts about whether Apple Glass would ever come out. Only about 10% of Reality Pro assets are used for the glasses project, which is codenamed N421. Apple has delayed any formal product development work on standalone glasses for years, “virtually killing the idea,” a person involved in the project said. Apple is at least four years away from launching something like this, if it ever happens, they said.
Over time, insiders say, more and more compromises had to be made in order for the Reality Pro device to work. According to the report, “the product’s design is also a silent acknowledgment of the company’s inability to solve some core technical problems. For example, functioning as an external Mac display and multi-person video calling functions are inferior to the company’s original intention, although Apple hopes to improve them. Apple also It was hoped that the battery could be integrated into the headset, but in order to save weight and prevent overheating, Apple made a very un-Apple design compromise: It redesigned the battery into an iPhone-sized package that sits in the user’s pocket. Just leave it there and connect it with a power cord.” That’s a far cry from Apple’s usual practice of not entering a new market until it can make something it really wants.
In another very un-Apple thing, the company is reportedly planning to sell the Reality Pro headset at close to cost. That’s in stark contrast to the margins of around 37 percent the company expects from other products. Gurman also said the company even discussed selling at a loss initially to gain a foothold in the market. According to reports, the project has an annual development budget of more than 1 billion US dollars and more than 1,000 engineers are involved.
The report also said that according to people familiar with the matter, Apple executives such as Craig Federighi and Johnny Srouji are skeptical of the device. Keep your distance and be wary of headsets. Johnny Srouji, senior vice president of hardware technology, is also privately skeptical, likening it to a science project. Tim Cook has also been described as ‘ alienating’ the project and frustrating the team by delaying decision-making.”
