Anticipation Grows as Apple Prepares to Launch Highly-Anticipated Mixed-Reality Headset
Tech giant Apple is set to release its long-awaited mixed-reality headset in the near future, and experts believe this move could inject new vitality into the emerging metaverse industry. The blockchain-based metaverse projects Decentraland (MANA) and Sandbox (SAND) experienced significant price surges earlier this year, partly fueled by rumors surrounding Apple’s foray into mixed reality. Market analyst Josh Gilbert from eToro expects the release of Apple’s headset to have a profound impact on the market, given the company’s track record of delivering high-quality and game-changing products.
Apple’s Mixed-Reality Headset Launch Expected to Spark Market Excitement
While the launch of Apple’s mixed-reality headset is highly anticipated, some experts, including analyst Josh Gilbert, have doubts about whether it will be the “make-or-break” moment for metaverse-related cryptocurrencies. It’s important to note that the correlation between virtual reality and metaverse tokens isn’t immediate, as projects like Decentraland and The Sandbox are still in the process of building out their VR capabilities. Gilbert emphasizes that a fully immersive metaverse experience is still a long way off, and the success of metaverse tokens will depend largely on widespread adoption among everyday users.
Metaverse Tokens’ Performance Hinges on Metaverse Popularity
As the popularity of the metaverse and associated cryptocurrencies like MANA and SAND skyrocketed during the 2021 crypto bull run, many companies promised groundbreaking immersive virtual worlds. However, despite substantial investments, widespread adoption among everyday users has yet to materialize for most of these projects, including Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, which has spent billions on research and development. At present, both MANA and SAND have experienced significant price declines of 92% and 94% respectively from their all-time highs in November 2021. The upcoming launch of Apple’s mixed-reality headset on June 5 is expected to be a major event, marking the company’s first major product release since the Apple Watch in 2015.
