Apple is usually a cautious company when deciding to enter a category, and the reason is very simple: they have to do it better than the rest, even if that solution has already existed for a long time. In the case of mixed reality systems, the Cupertino firm has had several problems to follow the roadmap, and it seems that these delays have made Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, impatient to the point of ignoring the warnings of his team of designers.
According to reports, Apple’s CEO is seeking to force the presentation of the first mixed reality headset to happen this 2023, despite several recommendations from the team of designers behind the project who maintain that the device would not be ready for the official announcement.
Financial Times claims that the timing of the product has led to these clashes between the head of operations and the project area in charge of design. For the people involved in the development of the headset, the most prudent is to wait a bit until a lighter equipment is achieved; while the operations team wants to send an initial version similar to Google’s VR glasses to watch videos and make FaceTime calls using avatars. According to Apple collaborators consulted by FT, there is a “big push to ship” these units.
In this conflict, Tim Cook – former chief operating officer of Apple before taking over as CEO – would have been against the observations of the design team and support the current head of the operations area, Jeff Williams; to whom the design team must report since Jony Ive left the head in 2019.
Following the departure of the design chief, Apple employees have noticed that the operations area has taken more control within the project flow. This parameter coincides with the company’s increasing pressure from investors, which has led to a huge diversification in the Apple brand’s business strategy.
This new VR product announced by Apple this 2023 is expected to achieve one million units sold at a possible selling price of 3 thousand dollars.
