Apple reportedly still on track to launch Reality Pro headset at WWDC in June

Apple is still expected to announce the Reality Pro mixed reality headset during the WWDC23 event on June 5, according to a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Writing in the weekly Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple is still on track to announce the new headset despite previous reports suggesting that the launch could be pushed back.

It was thought that Apple employees were concerned that the headset could suffer a false start thanks to a high price - around $3,000 - and technical specification challenges including just two hours of battery life and heavy construction. But Gurman says that Apple is still good to go.

Writing in his newsletter Gurman said that Apple will show the headset at the Worldwide Developers Conference including its xrOS operating system. Gurman also suggested that there will be additional services linked to the headset, while Apple will also share a software development kit (SDK) that will allow third-party developers to build apps specifically for the headset.

Gurman seems convinced that the headset will get some stage time during the WWDC opening keynote despite the previous report by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that things had gone awry.

Kuo claimed that mass production of the device had been pushed back by as many as two months, possibly seeing the launch go with it. But with Apple unlikely to make the headset available to buy shortly following the event, both the delay and the announcement could be true.

Apple is likely to want to announce the headset and then make it available to developers months ahead of it going on sale to the public. That would allow developers to fill the App Store with software just as they did ahead of other product launches including the Apple Watch.

The headset isn't the only possible new hardware to come out of Apple within the next few months. The 15-inch MacBook Air continues to be heavily rumored for an imminent launch, although it's unclear whether that will use Apple's current M2 chips or be based on the upcoming M3 Apple silicon.

The WWDC23 event will kick off on June 5 and run through June 9, giving developers a chance to ask questions and learn more about whatever Apple announces. Those announcements will likely include the latest software for Apple's devices including iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS 14, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17.

All of the new software will go through a months-long beta program before being released to the public in or around September alongside new iPhones and Apple Watches.