Mark Gurman: Apple’s Rumored AR & VR Headsets Will Focus On Gaming

According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple’s augmented reality and virtual reality headsets will reportedly focus on gaming, media consumption, and communications. This information was outlined in Gurman’s “Power On” newsletter.

“Gaming should be a strong focus of the machine, especially given that it will have multiple processors, a fan, extremely high-resolution displays, and its own App Store,” he wrote. “Look for Apple to position the device as a dream for game developers. Next, media consumption. I expect Apple to work with media partners to create content that can be watched in VR on the device. Third, communications. Look for Animojis and a VR FaceTime-like experience to be the new-age Zoom.“

Morgan Stanley analysts are saying that Apple’s mixed reality headsets are now “approaching liftoff.” According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, mass production of these devices will begin during the second quarter of next year with the product launches set for Q4 2022.

The Profit‘s Take:

Anytime Apple makes headlines, it’s big news. It’s a leak, but Ming-Chi Kuo is often very accurate with the news. Fundamentally, hardware has held back VR and AR gaming capabilities. But, with Apple throwing its hat into the ring, this could be a sign of the changing times. Nobody else can bring these types of experiences to the mainstream better than Apple. I don’t think there is a better company out there to do this. Google did make Google Glass, but that was very ho-hum. Apple does the connection between hardware and software better than anybody else in the space today. If this comes out and is close to what we have heard, it could be the biggest gaming/metaverse story of 2022. Apple loves selling you new devices instead of replacing them. So, it’s fascinating that the article said this could replace the iPhone in ten years. If it can do all the things it says (media consumption, gaming, communication, etc), then you wouldn’t really need your iPhone anymore. People have no problem spending money on Apple products. Hypothetically, if these devices cost $1000, I still think there would be a huge market for them. I mean, think about how big the market is for $1000 iPhones. I don’t think cost is the issue. Apple needs to show that there is a clear market for this type of hardware outside of just gaming.

(All information was provided by MacRumors)