Apple and Meta set to release high-end VR headsets

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(Image courtesy Meta.)

Apple and Meta will soon be going head-to-head in the high-end virtual reality headset arena — and at enterprise price points.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the new Apple augmented and virtual reality headset could be called Apple Reality Pro and will be released sometime in January 2023.

Apple’s headset may ship with a price above $2000, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told Macrumors.

The Apple Reality Pro is set to compete against Meta’s Project Cambria –also known as Meta Quest Pro.

It looks like the Meta Quest Pro is coming out before the Apple Reality Pro and will be unveiled tomorrow Tuesday, October 11, at Meta Connect 2022, according to Mark Zuckerberg himself.

A leak from AR and VR YouTuber Brad Lynch has the Meta Quest Pro coming out on October 25, 2022, at a hefty price tag of $1,500.

https://twitter.com/SadlyItsBradley/status/1567174793132232710

These headsets are not meant for the average consumer. Both companies are gearing the high-end headsets toward enterprise customers.

But the same technology could make it into mass-market headsets at some point, with the right distribution channels and some help, Apple and Meta might gain traction with the hardware.

“Like with smartphones, it seems like for Apple and Meta to find mass adaptation for their VR devices, they are going to have to tap into partners like Verizon, T-Mobile, and other mobile carriers that sell their hardware tied into mobile and data plans,” said Rolf Illenberger, founder and managing director of VRdirect, producer of virtual reality software solutions for enterprise users.

Even at seemingly high price points, enterprise players may want to purchase the headsets to use in virtual reality business applications.

“There will be the expectation that an Apple VR device works with the same seamless quality as every other Apple device,” Illenberger told Hypergrid Business.

Whether enterprise companies and their employees will fully embrace working with enterprise headsets remains to be seen.

maryc.stoll@gmail.com'
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