How much will it cost Apple to make its first AR/VR headset? The first details on the production costs of the Apple viewer emerge. Despite the various disagreements and internal doubts, Apple is preparing to present its first viewer during WWDC on June 5th. According to the latest rumors, the device will cost around $ 3,000, but how much will Apple spend to produce each unit?
Apple will build itself MicroLED to disengage from Samsung
Chinese analysts believe the headset will cost Apple around $1,500 per unit, for a higher production cost than competitors.
A report from Wellsenn XR details the bill of materials (BoM) for Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset. According to these data, the components cost Apple about $ 1,400. When shipping costs are added, the price per unit adds up to $1,600. The headset is expected to feature Apple’s M2 chip, 12GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.3 for a fast wireless connection.
As detailed today, the most expensive components are OLED displays, which are expected to cost between $280 and $320 per unit. The 14-lens camera isn’t exactly cheap either, costing around $160.
But how does this cost compare to other headsets already available on the market? Brad Lynch, an expert on XR (extended reality) devices, noted that the production cost of the Meta Quest Pro is half the price of Apple’s headset. Meta’s device launched for $1,500, but the price was later reduced to $999. That means Meta makes about $250 per unit of its headset.
Apple, on the other hand, is known for not giving up on its profit margin. The company would in fact have decided to sell the device at its cost of production, rather than selling it at a loss as initially considered. To give just a few examples, Apple spends around $500 to produce an iPhone 14 Pro Max, which starts at $1,099 in the US. This lines up with rumors that the headset will cost customers around $3,000. Of course, production costs do not include research, development, marketing and other expenses.
Based on this report, we can assume that Apple is indeed building a much more premium headset with more advanced technologies than its competitors. But only time will tell if customers are actually willing to spend that much money on a new product category that, so far, hasn’t turned out to be very attractive.