Friday, May 19th 2023
Alleged Apple Mixed Reality Headset Material Cost Leaks Out
Self-described mixed reality nerd, Brad Lynch, has tweeted out several interesting details about Apple's yet-to-be announced VR/AR headset. He has managed to compile information from several sources - mostly reports produced by hardware analysts based in China. His summation of the leaked info states: "The Apple HMD's Bill of Materials (BoM) cost to be about $1500-1600 (USD). This is about double the reported BoM for the (Meta) Quest Pro (which was 800 dollars including the controllers and charging pad)."
Minsheng Electronics's article suggests that 400,000 - 500,000 headset units are set for production in the second half of this year. An operating system with the codename "rOS" is reportedly clashing with Apple's traditional iOS mobile platform, but the author does not provide further information about these compatibility issues. The headset's operating system is supposedly capable of supporting a wide range of games, productivity applications and methods of video communication.
Minsheng's breakdown of Apple's bill of materials for the mixed reality device is also corroborated in part by a similar report, published by Wellsenn XR - although their calculations point to a total of $1509. A rough estimate of the former's list is as follows (via translation):
Sources:
Brad Lynch Tweet, Weixin QQ, XR Daily News, Antonio De Rosa's Unofficial Design Concept
Minsheng Electronics's article suggests that 400,000 - 500,000 headset units are set for production in the second half of this year. An operating system with the codename "rOS" is reportedly clashing with Apple's traditional iOS mobile platform, but the author does not provide further information about these compatibility issues. The headset's operating system is supposedly capable of supporting a wide range of games, productivity applications and methods of video communication.
- Chipset: two pieces in total, $120 -140
- Micro OLED screens: $280-320
- Camera (will carry 14): $160
- Optical-mechanical lens system and assembly: $70-80
- Rearview mirror: $13-15
- Pupillary distance adjustment module: $30-35
- 3D sensor part: $80-90
- Metal middle frame: $95
- Appearance parts: $15-20
- External battery pack: $22 -25
- Microphone: $21-22, Speakers: $16-18
- PCB+FPC: $40-45
- RAM+ROM storage part: $40-45
- Other chipsets such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, PMIC, etc. total: $60-70
- Total cooling module: $70
- Other auxiliary accessories: $30-40
- Assembly: $110-120
13 Comments on Alleged Apple Mixed Reality Headset Material Cost Leaks Out
I call this BS.
That assembly price though.........................crazy low
I don't see any avenue for this product to be a success, business or consumer. All the renders that made news - like this one - look like a ski mask of some sort, who's going to wear that on a day to day basis?
Business users want hardware that does what it says on the tin, and without for example a Facebook login. Business is also not immune to a touch of business-y flair, which Apple products absolutely have.
And this is not the piece of gear you'll find hanging off every desk in the building - this is what's on the board room table in the penthouse, and in select offices.
I'm basing a lot of this opinion on the designs and renders that leaked out but I just don't see it, the only device I think came close to become a thing was the google glass and even that was more than a decade too early