Apple Inc. is racing to build a trove of software and services for its upcoming mixed-reality headset, seeking to win over potentially wary consumers with apps that use the device’s novel 3D interface.
The offerings will include gaming, fitness and collaboration tools, new versions of Apple’s existing iPad features, and services for watching sports, according to people with knowledge of the plans. The roughly $3,000 headset is set to debut at an event in June, with the product going on sale months later.
Apple’s hardware products have long depended on having a robust assortment of software — epitomized by the Steve Jobs-era slogan, “There’s an app for that.” But there may be even more pressure when it comes to the mixed-reality headset, a technology that will be unfamiliar to many consumers and very expensive at the outset. Apple will have to sell the world on why anyone needs such a device and how to use it.
