Apple’s mixed reality device, a long-awaited revival of the VR/AR type of technology that has – frankly – so far been little short of a fiasco for the huge expectations it generated, it’s late again and there are legitimate doubts that it can be introduced at WWDC in June as planned.

Nothing new under the sun because the device It has been in development since at least 2015. and Apple has not yet found an opportunity to launch it. And it won’t be for lack of funds. Apple has bought several companies specializing in AR hardware, 3D games and virtual reality software in recent years, highlighting its purchase of PrimeSense, which developed the sensor technology for Microsoft’s Kinect, and more recently AR startups such as Metaio and Flyby Media.

The same CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, expressed his “enthusiasm” for this type of product and dared – no less – to compare the expected launch to the arrival of the first iPhone. The fiasco of Google Glass, Microsoft Hololens and the very weak sales of several manufacturers that entered this segment (Oculus and HTC) knocked Apple from the cloud to a sad reality: there is no consumer interest in this type of product and only Sony, pulling the popularity of the PS4, was able to sell reasonable amount of your PSVR.

Apple devices with mixed reality, lag and problems

This is the latest from Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst specializing in Apple and usually a reliable source. According to Kuo, Apple was once again delaying the mass production of its device, and distrust spread in Cupertino. In addition, sales forecasts are not optimistic and fell from half a million units to 200-300 thousand.

Such voices are heard among executives you are not sure about the usefulness of the device and engineers are not happy with their software and hardware either. The availability of a suitable ecosystem with the new xrOS operating system and the necessary applications is a real puzzle.

Not even satisfied with the hardwaremainly due to the high weight of the device requiring an external battery and the ski goggle design with a carbon fiber frame that will make it impossible to use with prescription glasses.

And its price… The advanced 4K micro-LED screens it is said to be mounting have raised the cost a lot. They are talking about a price between 3000 and 4000 dollars which leaves it completely out of the consumer market and its utility for the commercial market needs to be seen where it seems to be headed.

For all of the above, a big question arises: Will this be Apple’s first major “disaster” in two decades? The guys from Cupertino are used to turning everything they develop into gold and have revolutionized the industry with devices like the iPhone, iPad or Watch. But here there are no guarantees and there are dupes (which Apple also had) such as the Mac G4 Cube, the QuickTake 200 camera, the USB mouse in the shape of a hockey puck, the Macintosh TAM or the Apple Newton.

It’s true that if there’s a company capable of reviving any technology right now, it’s Apple. We’ll see