This week, Apple will mainly focus on ‘Far Out’ Eventis likely to see new launches of the iPhone 14 family – iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max – as well as new AirPods and new Apple Watch.
That’s a lot to keep enthusiasts happy. But there has been much speculation about Apple’s next big thing. Right now, assume that it is almost certainly some kind of virtual or augmented reality headset.
Apple may be working on not one, but three different models, according to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg.
The first of them, codenamed N301 and likely called Apple Reality Pro, could launch as soon as next year. This is followed by the lower-cost model N602, and the N421, which is expected to be an augmented reality headset.
The big tech companies seem to have decided that AR and VR headsets will be the next major computing device for consumers and businesses.
Tech companies — public in the case of Facebook or more discreetly in the case of Apple — have poured billions of dollars into these projects over the past few years.
For big tech, the benefits are clear: whichever brand wins will be able to mediate our relationship with the visual world around us. The potential for advertising (not to mention invasion of privacy) is almost endless.
However, at least for now, the tech giants’ enthusiasm for AR and VR has not been met with commensurate interest from users. Headset shipments are still low compared to smartphones or even PCs.
While the worldwide AR and VR headset market will grow 92.1% year-on-year in 2021, that only means 11.2 million devices have been shipped as of this year. technology analysis company IDC, compared to 1.3 billion smartphones shipped in the same year. Metaverse may have generated a lot of interest and investment, but consumer VR is still dominated by smartphones and tablets rather than headsets.
Of course, VR headsets aren’t Apple’s only next big potential: there’s also a lot of speculation about some kind of self-driving ‘Apple Car’ that refuses to go away. Such is the strength of the Apple brand, according to a recent survey, a quarter of new car buyers will definitely ‘consider’ buying one even though it doesn’t exist yet and probably never will. .
Whether it’s the next headset or the car, I believe Apple will play a game longer than many expect. The iPhone ecosystem continues to expand, as well as Apple’s interest in services. And there’s still growth in the smartphone market – especially if Apple introduces a foldable iPhone at some point in the future.
It is also it is not clear that the current state of VR which means Apple will feel the need to make an immediate move.
What do you want Apple’s next big product to be? Let us know in the comments below.
