The New Details on Apple’s Long Headset Journey

We’ve known for years now that Apple is developing both a mixed reality headset and AR glasses, and while The Information and other publications have regularly trickled out details on the former, CEO Tim Cook has not shied from talking up AR as “the next big thing.” Only now are we getting a better idea of exactly how and why Apple kept at this secretive work on mixed reality and AR over the years despite various setbacks and moments of doubt.

Wayne Ma’s latest report on Apple’s mixed reality device fleshes out the story of its development right up to a key point in 2019, around the time when Apple set its sights on 2022 for the headset’s launch (a second part of Wayne’s report is coming soon). The most telling new details concern two moments that could’ve sank the mixed reality headset’s chances long ago: when Jony Ive’s team expressed doubts about VR and when plans for a cheap iPhone enclosure headset were dropped.