Apple’s AR headset might get its own event this spring

In the January 8 edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman predicts that Apple will find little time in 2023 to talk about anything other than its new mixed-reality headset. So much so that the device is set to get its own dedicated event this spring.

The headset has had numerous delays and setbacks in its development and Gurman notes that, until quite recently, Apple hoped to introduce it this very month. But this will prove to be the final delay, he reckons, with the company set to unveil the device in the spring, “and then get developers up to speed on its software features [at WWDC] in June. On this timeline, the company would then ship the product later in the fall of 2023.”

Partly this plan reflects a lack of other candidates for WWDC stage time. Gurman says the headset project has sucked in engineering resources from multiple hardware and software departments, resulting in iOS 17 and macOS 14 having fewer new features than expected, many Mac launch plans have been canceled or downgraded, and the iPad and Apple Watch will see no major updates in 2023. With its energies focused so heavily on AR and VR, Apple is putting most of its eggs in one basket, and the event schedule for the year is likely to reflect that.

That may seem like a bit of a downer, but there’s a positive way to look at it. Apple has been working on the headset for a long time and must feel the effort has been worthwhile if it’s ready to give the product its own launch event. We know that Cupertino is quite happy to ditch products in advanced stages of development if it doesn’t feel they’re up to snuff, and is under no obligation to hold a spring event at all. In other words, there are plenty of reasons to feel optimistic: Apple could introduce an entire ecosystem of AR/VR products rather than just a single headset, which could make this its most significant launch in years.

In the company’s yearly cycle of events and announcements, major products have frequently been unveiled in the spring. The third-gen iPhone SE debuted in March 2022 (the original model was launched at an event in March 2016), while new models of the iPad and iMac were announced in April 2021. But the spring event isn’t quite as consistent a feature of the calendar as WWDC in June and the iPhone launch in the fall, with several springs in the last decade (2013, 2014, 2017, and 2020) seeing no event at all: not even a virtual video presentation.

This year, it seems, Apple has no intention of letting spring pass by without some stage time. And no wonder, if the VR/AR headset is as significant as the company hopes.