Apple employees concerned about their upcoming mixed-reality headset, afraid it will be a dud

The highly anticipated launch of Apple’s mixed-reality headset is just months away. However, somea Apple employees do not believe the product is ready yet and might be a massive dud, according to The New York Times.

While some employees allegedly left the project due to their reservations, others who have continued to work on the project are sceptical of the headset’s success, given that Apple is planning to charge a price of $3,000 for each unit.

The headset is generally anticipated to be unveiled by Apple at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple recently demoed the gadget in front of the company’s top 100 execs at the Steve Jobs Theater in California, “suggesting that a public unveiling is on the horizon.”

However, the Times reports that behind the “glitzy” display, there has been some internal debate about the future of the mixed reality device. While that seems fairly normal whenever a business enters a totally new product category (as Apple has done several times in the past), the Times claims that things are different this time.

“Some internal sceptics have questioned whether the new device is a solution looking for a problem,” reports the Times. “In contrast to the iPod, which put digital songs in people’s pockets, and the iPhone, which combined the capabilities of a music player and a phone, the headset hasn’t been driven by the same clarity.”

According to the Times, some of this uncertainty has been caused by a series of senior departures on the product design team, which began with Jony Ive in 2019 and was followed by the resignation of his replacement, Evans Hankey, last year. Since then, Apple has not appointed a new head of industrial design, allegedly leaving engineer Mike Rockwell in control of the headset’s development.

According to the Times, concerns from both employees and Apple executives have some employees pondering whether the headset will be delayed. However, it does not appear that this will happen, as insiders tell the Times that a June debut is still on the table, with “headset manufacturing underway” for the scheduled reveal in just a few months.

The headgear rumour mill has been quite busy in the months building up to the device’s anticipated debut, with reports suggesting that it could resemble a pair of ski goggles, have a physical crown that allows you to swap between VR modes, and have a physical power pack that fits in your pocket. While the $3,000 gadget may initially be aimed at developers, Gurman thinks Apple is working on a more inexpensive version of the headset that could be released as soon as next year.

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