The rumored Apple Reality Pro has divided internal opinion at Apple, according to a new report – and that could spell trouble.
Apple’s long-awaited mixed reality headset looks increasingly likely to launch this year, but a new report suggests a troubled development process that echoes a classic Apple product with a mixed reputation.
The Financial Times (opens in new tab) suggests that Apple CEO Tim Cook has decided to “press ahead with a debut this year” for a mixed-reality headset, which apparently resembles a pair of lightweight ski goggles, and will blend both AR and VR experiences.
In making this decision, however, Cook has apparently “overruled the early objections from Apple’s designers to wait for the tech to catch up with their vision”. Given that the Apple VR headset has now apparently been seven years in the making and is “expected to cost around $3,000”, it’s hard not to hear this speculation and think of the Apple Newton.
Just over 30 years ago, in May 1992, Apple announced a pretty ground-breaking product called the Newton MessagePad, which ushered in a new mobile computing platform called the PDA (or Personal Digital Assistant). The Newton was also in development for six years, bogged down by internal disputes, and was prohibitively expensive at launch (costing $900, or about $1,860 / £1,540 / AU$2,400 at today’s prices).
Of course, we have no way of knowing whether or not the fortunes of Apple’s headset – rumored to be called the Apple Reality Pro – could ultimately follow the same path as the Newton, which was discontinued in 1997. Apple will certainly do everything to ensure it won’t, including launching “a marketing blitz for the new product” (according to the Financial Times).
