Apple Headset to be Announced in 2022

Apple virtual and augmented reality headset and a self-driving car—will mark a change in how the company rolls out new devices. The company is also testing Belkin’s new multi-device charger and discussing the future of charging Apple devices. The carriers are not honoring Apple device rebates.

The product announcement and then releases is a complete surprise to their stores, and it will be in stores just days later with the company’s next round of major product categories, which likely won’t be the case. Most iPhones over the last decade were introduced in either June or September before hitting shelves just a week later. We’ve seen similar timelines for many iPads, AirPods and Macs also released under Tim Cook, and this was a strategy also used heavily under Steve Jobs.

Jobs had said he announced the iPhone so early to preempt the U.S. Federal Communications Commission from leaking it during regulatory approvals. The reality is that the device’s hardware and software were not ready yet for release, and the company needed to field test the smartphone on cellular networks.Apple needed the extra two months to finish up the device’s operating system, gather e-books for the launch of iBooks, and push developers to optimize apps for the tablet’s larger screen.Cook—three years into his tenure as CEO—was under pressure from investors and customers to deliver a new product category. It would have been hard to hold them off another 200 days.

Apple has at least three major new product categories in the pipeline, all of which are likely to cap a two-decade run for Cook: a mixed virtual and augmented reality headset, augmented reality glasses, and a self-driving car. These new products will challenge  typical launch schedule, and they will likely even stretch the delays we’ve seen with last new categories.