Apple's mixed-reality headset will be primarily targeted at developers and could now see shipments of fewer than 100,000 units this year, Taiwanese research firm TrendForce reports. Apple headset concept by Marcus Kane TrendForce claims that the headset's high cost, difficulty to manufacture, and focus on developers will "restrict sales predominantly to pre-orders for this year." While Apple's headset could stimulate some new demand in the AR/VR product category, the high price tag of the device, believed to be in the ballpark of ~$3,000, will apparently pose a significant barrier to broader market growth. Trendforce forecasts that shipments of the new headset will now "fall short" of 100,000 units this year, with Apple potentially capping production at no more than 300,000…

Apple hasn’t made a major product introduction since it rolled out the Apple Watch in 2015, but with its “Reality Pro” mixed-reality headset, expected to retail for $3,000, the company will be entering into a market that has so far failed to catch on with mainstream consumers. Designer Marcus Kane’s conception Apple’s mixed reality headset (via Yanko Design) Emily Bary for MarketWatch: Apple has a history, though, of turning technology categories into trends, and a team of Goldman Sachs analysts says the company might be able to work its magic again with the Reality Pro headset. “Although we recognize that the [augmented/virtual reality] industry as a whole has generally been disappointing, we believe that Apple’s potential AR/VR headset can succeed…

Apple's mixed-reality headset will cost the company around $1,500 per unit to manufacture, according to a series of reports coming out of Asia (via XRDailyNews). Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane The first report from Minsheng Electronics, providing a detailed breakdown of the cost of each component in the headset, showing a total cost of $1,400. Including shipping, the conservative estimate for the bill of materials (BOM) is around $1,600. The device's most expensive components are the microOLED displays, which come in at $280 to $320. The next most costly parts are the headset's 14 camera modules, costing $160. The device's two chips, presumably referring to the main M-series SoC and a separate dedicated image signal processor,…

Apple executives including CEO Tim Cook and senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi have kept their distance from the company's mixed-reality headset throughout its development process, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple headset concept render by Marcus Kane. Apple apparently began developing the headset in 2015, using Samsung's Gear VR and the HTC Vive in early experiments. The headset has reportedly deviated significantly from ‌Tim Cook‌'s original vision. The product was initially imagined as "a pair of unobtrusive eyeglasses that could be worn all day," but it has now become a full-blown headset that looks like a pair of ski goggles and requires a separate battery pack due to technological limitations, internal disagreements, and a rush to bring…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple’s moneymaking source for apps, games, and more was having some issues on Monday. Reports of problems have spiked across social media, while Verge writers trying to access the App Store via iPhone, Mac, or iPad were seeing mostly blank spaces instead of descriptions and screenshots, but it’s now all working again. Interestingly, staffers outside the US were able to use the App Store, despite the apparent outage. Downdetector has collected more than 2,400 reports of problems so far. MacRumors reports some users were having trouble with other services as well, including Apple Music and Apple podcasts, but they appear to be resolved. Apple’s server status page doesn’t mention any known issues, and…

Disney+ shed another 4 million subscribers in the first three months of 2023, marking the streamer’s second consecutive quarterly drop after closing 2022 with a loss of 2.4 million subscribers. Disney ended the quarter with 157.8 million subscribers at Disney+, significantly missing Wall Street’s estimate of 163.17 million subs. “Baby Yoda” (Grogu) from Disney+ “The Mandalorian” Jennifer Maas for Variety: On Wednesday, CEO Bob Iger and Co. beat Wall Street estimates for Disney’s quarterly earnings and revenue due to an impressive January-March showing at the company’s theme parks. That win comes during a fiscal Q2, which concluded April 1, plagued by company-wide layoffs, a looming (and now active) writers strike and a turf war with Florida Gov. Rick DeSantis. During…