Magic Leap 2 is less than a year away

In an interview with Protocol, Magic Leap CEO Peggy Johnson announced that the company is gearing up to release its second-generation mixed reality headset this year. Johnson said Magic Leap 2 would be first available in an early access program, with general availability in early 2022.

Magic Leap's first headset did not fare well in the market. The company tried to target the consumer market with its messaging, but the device's price tag screamed enterprise technology. In the last year, the company made the pivot focus solely on the enterprise space and put its consumer roadmap on hold for a while. Magic Leap 2 is exclusively an enterprise-focused device, with significant attention on medical training.

Johnson said that a core priority for Magic Leap 2 is making it comfortable for front-line workers. The new headset is half the size of the original model, along with a 20% weight savings. Magic Leap 2 will also offer a much larger field of view than the original model. Johnson said that her engineering team managed to create optics that enable double the field of view provided in the Magic Leap One.

The first run of Magic Leap 2 headsets will be available at the end of the year. Magic Leap plans to run an early adopter program with a select group of companies in Q4 2021, with general availability starting in early 2022.