Apple Unveils Its First Virtual Reality Headset to be Launched Next Year

Tech giant Apple has unveiled its first major product in almost a decade, a new $3,5000 virtual reality headset that will be launched to consumers in early 2024.

The headset which has reportedly been in development for seven years, is intended to overlay virtual reality experiences and digital apps onto the real world.

Announcing the Apple Vision Pro Virtual reality headset at the annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in Cupertino, the company’s CEO Tim Cook said, “It is the first Apple product you look through not at”.

The Apple Vision Pro is a wearable headset that creates an augmented reality experience with everything from work meetings and meditation to movies and games.

It can also be used for work with video conferencing apps, Microsoft Office tools, or Adobe Lightroom.  While wearing the headset, users can browse by looking or making hand gestures.

The Vision Pro will run on visionOS, a new spatial computing platform designed specifically for the company’s new headset to enable developers to build apps as they would for iOS on the iPhone.

Investors King understands that the unveiling of the Vision Pro reality headset marks the first major product launch for Apple since the Apple Watch in 2015.

But it’s unclear how large the demand is for the headset. However, a Bloomberg analysis estimates that the product will generate the company $1.5 billion U.S. in sales, or 0.5 percent of the company’s revenue base.

Also, industry experts say that while some might be skeptical about the adoption of the product, it can take time for new devices to find their place in the market.

Apple’s reality headset unveiling comes days after social media giant Meta announced its new virtual and mixed reality headset, Meta Quest 3, set to launch later this year. The Vision Pro introduces Apple as a new competitor in the virtual reality market.

It is understood that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple’s Tim Cook have been public adversaries for years on issues central to the tech industry.