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Apple’s First Headset to Be Niche Precursor to Eventual AR Glasses

The company’s first major new product category since the Apple Watch faces development hurdles. 

An attendee uses a hand tracking feature with Facebook’s Oculus Quest VR headset during the Oculus Connect 6 conference in San Jose, California, on Sept. 26, 2019. 

An attendee uses a hand tracking feature with Facebook’s Oculus Quest VR headset during the Oculus Connect 6 conference in San Jose, California, on Sept. 26, 2019. 

Photographer: Michael Short/Bloomberg
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Apple Inc.’s first crack at a headset is designed to be a pricey, niche precursor to a more ambitious augmented reality product that will take longer to develop, according to people with knowledge of the matter. 

The initial device has confronted several development hurdles and the company has conservative sales expectations, illustrating how challenging it will be to bring this nascent consumer technology to the masses.