If you're planning on picking up a brand-new and shiny Reality Pro headset after it is announced on June 5 (assuming the rumors are true) you're probably going to have a very long wait.
While we were already very much expecting the headset to ship later this year rather than immediately after its WWDC 2023 announcement, a new report suggests that mass production won't get underway until October.
If accurate, that would mean that the headset is unlikely to find its way into the hands of early adopters until around December 2023.
A waiting game
That's according to a research note by Erik Woodring, an Apple analyst at Morgan Stanley. The note, seen by MacRumors, suggests that buyers of the headset will have a long wait on their hands.
"While we expect Apple's AR/VR headset to be unveiled next week, our supply chain checks suggest mass production won't start until October '23, with general availability most likely ahead of the December holidays," Woodring reportedly said.
A delay between announcement and release was always expected, partially to allow developers time to work on Apple's new SDK and get their apps ready. But such a long wait might still surprise some, with there being a very real possibility that the headset could arrive with customers in 2024 depending on availability and any further changes in the supply chain.
Apple's expected to finally announce the headset on June 5 alongside at least two new Macs; the 15-inch MacBook Air and a new M2 variant of the Mac Studio. New software for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV will also likely be previewed. However, they also won't be ready for release to the public at that time. Instead, they're likely to launch in or around September.
