With AR and VR on the rise, Magic Leap is preparing several versions of its mixed reality glasses expected later this year. AR headsets are still expensive, however, and Magic Leap’s upcoming offerings will be quite pricey as well. While no specific price point is yet available, Magic Leap President and CEO Rony Abovitz recently said the company’s cheapest AR headset will start at a price comparable to that of high-end smartphones or tablets currently available on the market. If Samsung’s new Android flagships or Apple’s latest iPhone models are any references, the cheapest Magic Leap headset will likely be priced at approximately $1,000.
According to Abovitz, the high price makes sense because in time, the Magic Leap AR headset will be able to replace smartphones, tablets, laptops, and TVs, all of which would amount to thousands of dollars in savings. The executive noted that the company wants to set different tiers so that it can offer a number of products catering to various professional or personal needs. The “creator edition” of the upcoming Magic Leap One which should arrive later this year will fit in the middle of the company’s price range for AR headsets, according to Abovitz. If the most affordable headset will start at roughly $1,000 or so, it’s safe to assume that the Magic Leap One will cost significantly more. Earlier rumors pegged the price of the developer kit at around $1,500 or $2,000 and it seems like this will indeed be the case.
Abovitz further noted that Magic Leap will also have higher-end models for “hyper-pro” use, along with mass-market versions. The executive previously stated that the company’s headsets will be comparable to premium computers when it comes to pricing. No specific details are currently available on when the new Magic Leap headsets will hit the market, how much they will cost, or what specs they will have to offer, but the company should offer more information this spring. In the meantime, Magic Leap announced a new partnership with NBA and even received a video endorsement from Shaquille O’Neal. Some industry watchers remain skeptical about the immediate commercial potential of mixed reality headsets and aren’t convinced Magic Leap will manage to stay in business by the time such technologies enter the mainstream and start yielding significant profits.