As rumors continue to swirl about its augmented reality headset, Apple has reportedly hire away Meta’s AR public relations head Andrea Schubert, according to Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter. “Meta, with Oculus, has been the market leader in headsets, so such a hire makes sense as Apple nears its launch,” Gurman wrote.
Schubert has been Communications Director with Meta’s Reality labs and comms lead for Oculus with Meta since March 2016, according to her LinkedIn page. Prior to that, she was director of the PR agency OutCast that counted Facebook and Oculus as clients.
Numerous rumors have surfaced about Apple’s potential AR headset, some conflicting. One recent one speculated that the headset might depend on another device like an iPhone or a Mac computer. Another from The Information stated that it would be a standalone device with dual 8K displays that could cost up to $3,000. And a third rumor, this one from Gurman, indicated that it would play “high-quality VR games.” Gurman also stated that Apple may follow up the VR headset with AR-only glasses, but that would happen “years down the road.”
Most of the sources agree that the headset will launch in 2022 or 2023, however. If that’s the case, Apple will need to muster an impressive information campaign to educate the public on what it is and how it will work. The fact that the company has reportedly hired away the PR lead from Meta, the current leader in virtual and augmented reality, could confirm that the product is on track so far.
