Someone with hands-on experience of the Apple Reality Pro headset seems to be pretty impressed.
Talk of Apple’s likely upcoming AR/VR headset continues, with the so-called Reality Pro expected to be announced during the WWDC23 event in June. Now, a leaker claims to have been told by one insider at Apple that they have seen a demo of the headset and that they were “blown away” by what they saw.
The headset is already proving divisive both inside and outside of Apple. Some inside are concerned that the headset’s limitations — it’s thought to be big and heavy with a hip-mounted battery — could hamper adoption. Those outside of Apple are concerned that its expected $3,000 asking price will simply be too much. But according to this report, the headset could be better than many had dared hope.
From underwhelming to being blown away
Writing on Twitter, leaker Evan Blass said that they had been in contact with someone who “had several opportunities to demo” the headset, saying that they had gone from calling the headset “underwhelming” to being “blown away” by what it had to offer thanks to the latest hardware and software they were shown.
The leaker went on to say that their source told them that “the leap they’ve made since [late last year] is giant.” The insider went on to say that they had been skeptical but are now “blown away in a ‘take my money’ kind of way.”
Antonio De Rosa
That’s quite the turnaround for a headset that some had already written off, although that asking price is sure to remain a stumbling block for some.
Apple’s headset is expected to debut at the WWDC23 opening keynote on 5 June but it is unlikely to go on sale for many months afterward. All eyes will be on Cupertino to see whether the excitement shown by this one person is justified. It’s difficult to know for sure given the dearth of hands-on leaks we’ve seen. That might change as we get closer to the big unveiling though.