Magic Leap is preparing to unveil its next augmented reality headset later this year, and CEO Peggy Johnson revealed in an interview with Protocol when the product goes on sale. A limited number of units will be released through an early adopter program by the end of 2021, and the company plans to make Magic Leap 2 more widely available in early 2022.
The upcoming headset will be half the size of the current model and about 20 percent lighter, Johnson said. Despite those tweaks, Johnson said engineers have doubled the field of view in Magic Leap 2. “The optics around that are complex, but we have a very talented engineering team,” she said.
The company has reportedly sold only 6,000 copies of the Magic Leap One Creator Edition in the first six months of its availability. Later it shifted the focus from the consumer market to businesses.
Johnson, who became CEO in August after being fired, confirmed that Protocol that her team is “focused on the venture for the launch of Magic Leap 2”. She noted that the healthcare industry was particularly attractive to the company. “Augmented reality has the potential to transform healthcare more than any other industry, at least in the short term,” said Johnson.
Magic Leap competes with some major players in the augmented reality industry, some of which are more consumer-oriented. Facebook, Apple, Pokémon Go developer Niantic and Snap all work on AR devices. Last month, Microsoft defeated Magic Leap on a 10-year contract reportedly worth $ 21.9 billion to provide AR technology to the US military.
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