Apple’s WWDC 2023 Special Event is slated for next month—June 5—and during the event, the tech giant is expected to unveil its AR/MR headset for the first time, alongside its xrOS operating system. Now, ahead of the rumored unveil, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, has said this launch would define Tim Cook’s legacy as a CEO, and Apple deviated from their original vision.
Gurman, in Bloomberg Businessweek newsletter, claims that that Tim Cook, while launching the mixed reality headset, will look to recreate the same atmosphere that Apple has been able to do with its other products such as phones, earbuds, music players, and smartwatches.
Gurman—citing sources familiar with the development process—claims that the headset that Cook will present during WWDC 2023 has “deviated far from his initial vision" during the course of seven years of development. What started as a “pair of unobtrusive eyeglasses that could be worn all day" has transitioned into a headset that “resembles a pair of ski goggles and requires a separate battery pack."
The launch is being called one of Tim Cook’s “last big swings as Apple CEO" and holds the power to affect his legacy. “For Apple, it’s the culmination of a multibillion-dollar development process, and some people within the company have described it as the potential foundation of a post-iPhone era," Gurman said.
The headset is expected to cost around $3,000 and could ship with Apple’s xrOS software—which it recently registered as a wordmark using a shell company in New Zealand.
