Consumer electronics major apple (AAPL) on Monday unveiled its first new hardware platform in over eight years, its highly anticipated mixed reality headset called Vision Pro. Apple’s stock hit a record high ahead of an announcement at the company’s World Developers Conference, known as WWDC.
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Designed for entertainment, communication and productivity applications, the device combines virtual and augmented reality to compete with rival gadgets led by parent company Facebook. meta platform (meta). Apple’s last new hardware platform was the Apple Watch, which debuted in April 2015.
A number of details about the long-rumored product have surfaced in news leaks ahead of the event.
“This is the first Apple product you’ll see, not just your eyes,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in his keynote.
Vision Pro looks like sophisticated ski goggles. Play virtual reality content and use video passthrough to simulate augmented reality to view the real world. Also, the external display shows the user’s eyes.
The company has yet to announce pricing or a release date for the headset. He speculates that the headset will cost $3,000 apiece.
Apple announces new Mac computers
Vision Pro features a physical dial for switching between virtual reality and real life. This computer eyewear features dual high-definition displays with about a dozen sensors and cameras. Users control their devices using hand gestures, eye movements, and voice control.
Apple kicked off WWDC with a keynote at 10am Pacific time. The company is holding a conference this week at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
The presentation began with an introduction to new Mac computers, including the 15-inch MacBook Air notebook computer. The company also announced a new Mac Pro desktop computer with Apple Silicon processors and a second-generation version of the Mac Studio desktop computer.
At WWDC, Apple also provided updates for software developers on the latest operating systems for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch.
These software updates included iOS 17 for iPhone. iOS 17 enhancements include the ability to leave FaceTime video messages and get live transcriptions of received voicemail messages.
Apple stock soars ahead of WWDC
Apple shares hit an all-time high of 184.95 in today’s stock market noon trading. Apple shares hit a record high of 182.94 in January 2022.
But as the WWDC keynote progressed, Apple stock fell. In recent trading, Apple shares fell 0.4 percent to 180.25.
Ahead of WWDC, Morgan Stanley analyst Eric Woodring raised his price target on Apple stock to 190 from 185, maintaining an Overweight rating.
“AR/VR has the potential to be Apple’s next $20 billion+ computing platform,” Woodring said in a note to customers Friday.
Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani maintained his outperform rating on Apple shares, raising his price target to $210 from $190 on Sunday.
Daryanani expects adoption of Apple’s mixed reality headsets to be slow given the high price tag. In his memo to customers, he predicts sales of more than 10 million units in the first five years.
Roverset for Apple headsets
In addition, Rosenblatt Securities analyst Barton Crockett echoed his Buy rating with a price target of $198 on Apple stock.
“The bar is set low” for Apple’s mixed reality headset, he said in a note Monday.
“No one expects this to become an economically viable product in the near future,” Crockett said. “But I hope it will be an interesting effort that could gain momentum over time.”
Meanwhile, Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives maintains his outperform rating on Apple stock with a price target of $205.
“While other AR headsets such as Meta’s Quest have met with modest success, Apple’s Reality Pro comes with many apps and use cases that make this new product stand out in Cupertino’s hardware arsenal. I believe,” Ives said in a note Sunday.
Ives also estimates that the Reality Pro will ship around 150,000 units in its first year.
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