Apple Analyst Sees Mixed Reality Headset Delay In 2023, Shipments Below Market Estimates On This Factor

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) may delay the mass shipment of its mixed reality (MR) headset to the second half of 2023, said Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities.

What Happened: Kuo made his observations based on his latest survey and share them in a Twitter thread Sunday. 

The Taiwan-based analyst said that the MR headset may face delays due to “software-related issues.” He had previously said that the headset was expected in the second quarter of 2023.

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My latest survey indicates that the mass shipment schedule of Apple's MR headset may delay to 2H23 because of software-related issues (vs. the previous estimate of 2Q23).

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) December 4, 2022

Kuo revised the shipment forecast in 2023 to less than 500,000 units, which he said was lower than the “market consensus” of 800,000 to 1,200,000 units.

The analyst noted that the delay in mass market shipment of the Apple product may “hurt optical industry's near-term market sentiment.”

“The market previously expected Apple's MR headset, which will start mass shipments in 2Q23, would be a spotlight in the low season of the optical industry,” said Kuo.

See Also: Best Virtual Reality Stocks Right Now 

Why It Matters: Previously, Kuo had said Apple’s augmented MR headset was delayed due to its “complex design.”

Earlier, the Apple analyst had pinned the deadline for engineering validation tests for the headsets to begin in the third quarter of 2023. He had said at the time that the Tim Cook-led company would hold a media event, related to the headset,  in January 2023.

Kuo expects the mixed reality headset supplies to touch the 10 million mark as early as 2025.

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