Apple’s Game / Changer headphones are rumored to be launched in January 2023.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will “likely” release its long-talked-about mixed-reality headphones in January 2023.

In a detailed post in Medium, Kuo explained that Apple’s headphones will be a “game change” for the augmented reality and virtual reality markets. Describing some of the functionality of the headphones, Kuo said that although Apple has repeatedly advertised its focus on AR, the headphones will “offer a great immersive experience” and “video viewing” mode. The headphones are expected to increase the demand for immersive games and multimedia entertainment.

Kuo said the device is “the most sophisticated product Apple has ever designed,” prompting Apple to use components from many of its existing vendors. Kuo also believes that Apple will be a leader in the headphone industry, has “significant competitive advantages” and does not need to join the Metaverse Standards Forum. In particular, Kuo believes that rivals will compete to mimic Apple’s headphones once they are released, “leading the headphone hardware industry to the next stage of rapid growth.”

Although it was thought that Apple’s headphones would be released this year, a report by Mark Gurman of Bloomberg questioned the chances of the device appearing this year due to development issues. According to DigiTimes, Apple completed key production tests of the headphones in February 2022 and reportedly plans to begin mass production around August or September. Therefore, Kuo’s forecast for lunch in January 2023 seems broadly consistent with other rumors.

Regardless of the exact time, Apple’s headphone project is believed to be “getting closer”, with the device reflecting the timeline of Apple Watch’s development in the period before its release. Apple’s work on the headset operating system, “realityOS”, has been talked about since 2017, but the existence of the operating system was confirmed when links to it were found in the Apple Store upload and open source log files.

The headphones are said to have a lightweight design, two 4K micro-OLED displays, 15 optical modules, two main processors, Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, eye tracking, object tracking and hand gesture controls and more. The approximate price of the device is not yet clear, but some reports indicate that it may cost around $ 3,000.