Apple's AR/VR headset will begin production a year from now

Apple's success may have started out with the MacBook and then piggybacked onto the iPhone, but over the past years, the company has moved into what is more or less a lifestyle brand. It is constantly innovating and expanding its electronics ecosystem components to help you fill and manage your home, and your life in general.

And while Apple has already tapped into plenty of home and mobile electronics already, getting a foot inside the door of virtual reality, and augmented reality, is a goal the Cupertino company has long been working to realize.

Multiple patents have already been approved for Apple's upcoming original AR/VR headset, and the details have been trickling in here and there—but while development is fully underway, according to the most recent reports, the production of the headset has been pushed back even further, delaying its launch date.

Ming-Chi Kuo, who has been called the most accurate Apple analyst in the world, has reported that due to the complexity of the apparatus, the augmented reality headset will go into production starting October of 2022, or Q4. The original plan had been for contracted foundries to begin production and assembly by April 2022, but that was not to be.

And there does seem to have been a lot of effort in the design of the headset, which is purported to be much lighter than rival devices. 

According to discovered research notes, Apple wants to keep its total weight no more than 150 grams. Other virtual or augmented reality headsets, such as the Oculus Rift, can often weigh nearly half a kilogram (or 10 pounds)—Apple's contraption will certainly allow for longer sessions, appearing sleek and minimalistic in line with the rest of the brand.

Not only is Apple cramming the most complex of microtechnology and hardware into the tiniest of frames, but Kuo also claims that absolutely no corners will be cut in production. According to AppleInsider, the analyst promises that the design requirements for the augmented reality headset are “much higher than competitors’ products.” 

The company also won't launch the device until all its hardware and software interactions with other gadgets and services within the Apple ecosystem have been perfectly refined.

It's all of these factors that have contributed to Apple's AR/VR headset release being delayed by another 6 months, meaning that we've got at least another full year to go before we see this masterpiece off innovation hit the stores. We'll probably have our focus fully set on the iPhone 14 by then, and with all the new tech and flagships coming out throughout the year, Apple's augmented reality headset will be here before we know it.