Magic Leap’s teasing could finally come to an end today as the company prepares to launch its first AR headset dubbed the Magic Leap One. The official Magic Leap website has been entirely overtaken with a rocketship that’s ready to blast off, as the company’s CEO drops further hints on Twitter.

Update (August 8th, 2018 – 3:52PM ET): Following the latest teases, the company has indeed launched the Magic Leap One Creator Edition headset, priced at $2,300. Details here.

Original Article (August 8th, 2018 – 6:13AM ET): Magic Leap has been in development of an AR headset for several years now, which has garnered significant anticipation thanks to the company’s massive trove of venture funding (totaling more than $2 billion) and years of guarded teasing.

Last week Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz said he’d take his Twitter account—which has historically been filled with innocuous musings about the company’s work—to “radio silence mode until launch.”

Abovitz’ new Twitter header appears to show a repeating 8/8/18 pattern surrounding the sun. Abovitz | Image courtesy Rony Abovitz

Yesterday he broke silence and revamped his Twitter profile with new Magic Leap imagery, including a new header photo which appears to show the date 8/8/18 (today), suggesting that the company will launch the Magic Leap One today, or perhaps open pre-orders.

Image courtesy Magic Leap

Abovitz’ Twitter profile overhaul and break from radio silence coincides with a complete takeover of the Magic Leap website which now shows, on every page, a literal rocketship on a launchpad that’s fuming and ready to blast off. The rocket ship has been a pervasive symbol through Magic Leap’s guarded teasing over the years, with the phrase ‘rocket ship for the mind’ referenced regularly.

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Newly tweeted by Abovitz, an illustration of an astronaut—another one of the company’s recurring symbols—shows the Magic Leap logo on the collar and in the background. | Image courtesy Rony Abovitz

After years of teasing, Magic Leap finally revealed the industrial design of their AR headset at the end of 2017. But it would be many more months until the company offered any other substantive details or provided a look at what the headset could actually do. Some concrete info was finally confirmed last month during a developer livestream, including a look through the headset at a developer sample application for the first time.

Magic Leap One, the company’s first AR headset is expected to be positioned heavily toward developers, but it seems the company intends to openly sell the device. Earlier this year, Abovitz said that the unit would be priced ‘like a premium computer’. The company recently confirmed that it’s tapped AT&T as the exclusive US carrier for the initial launch of the headset.

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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • VRgameDevGirl

    Oh, how exciting!….oh wait. *Holds VHS tape at halfs arm length* never mind. I’ll stick to the VIVE.

    • JJ

      :D

  • Xron

    The price 2.295$ seems quite high :()

  • R FC

    Their marketing manager just left their employment, which does not bode well….

    • Get Schwifty!

      Never _ever_ a good sign right before a launch…

      • HybridEnergy

        He’s probably like “You guys had billions in investors and you guys want me to market this? no” lol

  • Gato Satanista

    2.295$!!! No way! Waiting for hololens 2.

  • Luke

    is the target of 2.295$ aiming to consumer or to enterprise? because I don’t understand how people may afford it.

    • Get Schwifty!

      This made me laugh…. after all the hype about changing the world we have a $2,295 device…. as predicted by many here, it’s likely just Hololens competitor now.

      • Doctor Bambi

        Framed through the lens of a Hololens competitor, it’s got some pretty compelling advantages. We’re still missing a lot of info on exactly how good each of its underlying systems are, but assuming they work reasonably well, it should become the front-running AR headset.

        • Facts

          Apple or samsung will copy this technology and make it lighter,faster better, cheaper. At 2.295$ this thing or its company not going nowhere

        • Veron

          It has just ONE advantage. The FOV.

          Aside that, Hololens works with glasses, has better tracking, more stable AR models and a robust development toolkit with massive support.

          • Doctor Bambi

            To each their own, but the 6DOF controller and eye tracking capabilities should add some really compelling new functionality, but yeah it’s going to mean putting up with a relatively less stable SDK.

    • MosBen

      It’s not quite a traditional dev kit in that you can actually go out and purchase one, but it’s also not really a regular consumer release either. This is the Creators Edition, and it seems clear to me that they’re primarily targeting developers, enterprise, and some creatives. For those groups, $2k isn’t crazy.

  • ale bro

    USA only seems a bit harsh.

    also why do they need to send an engineer to install it?

    is that because it doesn’t work??

    i didn’t need anyone to plug in the HTC Vive or the Samsung Odyssey for me.

  • jeff courtney

    So asking over 2k is high for this item.Understandably they have companies that funded them that they need to pay back.But at a high price it will keep many of the consumers away.Price it at around 500 then you get a mass market,if you over price it hoping to bring in revenue to pay back your debts you only risk losing everything.Praise Jesus !

    • MosBen

      This isn’t a product for the mass market. It’s the Creators Edition. It’s primarily for developers, enterprise, and creative types, and for that market $2k isn’t crazy.

      • Veron

        Even Magic Leap hasn’t said it’s aimed at the enterprise. Nobody will buy this for enterprise anyway.

        Developers and creatives cant sustain this.

        • Andrew Jakobs

          Developers as in the people making apps for the device. And just as much as enterprise bought hololenses which were even more expensive, the might also buy this..

  • MosBen

    You guys, this is the price for a dev unit, and from my limited knowledge of these sorts of things, that’s not a crazy price for a dev unit. Could a consumer buy one? Sure, I guess, but that’s not really the point of this thing.

    • JJ

      Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz calls it a “full-blown, working consumer-grade product,”

      https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/8/17661758/magic-leap-one-mixed-reality-spatial-computing-headset-price-shipping-release-date

      lol so no this is it

      • MosBen

        Yeah, and the rest of the sentence in that article says that it is “primarily aimed at artists and app developers”.

        And the Engadget write up says, “This really is for people who expect to write their own apps for Magic Leap’s mixed realty OS, not enthusiasts hoping for an extensive catalog to keep them entertained.”

        The dev kit for a console is not something that a normal person can usually just go out and buy, as you can do with the Magic Leap One Creator Edition, so yes, this is a bit different in that regard. But it’s also clearly not a product that for which they expect a normal enthusiast consumer, like me, to be a customer, and that’s reflected in the price.

        I have a strong suspicion that their investors were starting to see the growing skepticism in the online community regarding ML, and started pressuring the company to release an actual product. This isn’t ready for prime time, but it’s probably good enough for some enterprise applications and for developers interested in familiarizing themselves with the product. In another six months or a year we’ll see if they have an actual consumer-targeted product to release.

        • JJ

          it doesn’t matter what other bloggers say. ML and CEO Rony made the statement that this is the consumer version… There is no consumer version coming down the line in six months, this is it.

          • MosBen

            My original point was that this device is targeted primarily at developers, enterprise, and creatives, and for those groups it’s not a ridiculously high price. Indeed, it’s less than Hololens costs. Your response is simply that there’s a quote that when taken out of context sounds like this is a release targeted at normal consumers. It simply isn’t. The name implies that it’s not, how ML has talked about it in the past implies that it’s not, how it’s being pitched to the media implies that it’s not.

            Now, it may well be the case that they had to rush this out to some retail spaces under pressure from their investors, but that gets into pure speculation. The people here who are declaring it dead on arrival because $2k is too much for a consumer device, and really shouldn’t it be $600, are simply missing the forest for the trees. This isn’t a device that we gamers and consumer electronics enthusiasts are the target market for.

            Maybe ML will run out of money, get sued by their investors, and this will be the only thing that they release. Maybe they’ll have a consumer version in a year. Maybe they’ll get production ramped up and do some refinements to the build process and do a wide release with a significantly reduced price. We don’t know that at this time, but we do know that yesterday ML didn’t have a device targeted to mainstream audiences, and they don’t today either.

          • JJ

            idk he said right there that they see it as a consumer edition, so even though we both agree its nowhere near that, thats what theyre saying it is, so in this case thats what it is.

          • MosBen

            Yeah, and my point is that there is a broader context that you’re missing. There are devices that are targeted at consumers. You can go purchase these devices from standard electronics or big box stores generally being sold at prices that we consider normal for consumer focused goods. There are also developer kits, which generally aren’t available through retail outlets, and generally cost significantly more than consumer goods.

            This is something in between, but it’s mostly a product for developers, creatives, etc. because there’s no real software available for it, there’s very limited availability, and it’s quite expensive. And we know that it’s primarily for developers, creatives, etc. because it’s called the Creator Edition, and on ML’s website for it they say, “A universe of creative possibilities is emerging. So if you’re a developer, creator or explorer, be one of the first to forge the Magicverse.” Yes, you can buy it, but that doesn’t mean that it’s targeted to average consumers, or even enthusiasts.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            No, they said it was consumer-GRADE, that doesn’t mean it’ was the actual consumer version. It was in a state that it would be suitable to sell to consumers, but that’s not the intended target right now.

      • Andrew Jakobs

        Yes it is.. Because it’s a “working consumer-GRADE! product’ doesn’t mean it’s targeted at consumers, which it isn’t. This current version is targeted at business/development (like the hololens was, which was even more expensive).

  • SwissChris1

    Priority Service Plan: $600 hahahahaha

  • Facts

    2.295$ fail

    Only a few rich geeks will buy this then it will go dead. The smart thing is to sell it around 600 so everyday consumers can pick it up.

    • MosBen

      Or, developers, enterprise people, and creatives, the people that the device is for, will buy it because that price range isn’t unreasonable for those groups. If Magic Leap could sell this thing for $600 and find a way to make some kind of profit, they likely would. Nobody has figured out how to do this kind of tech at normal consumer price levels yet, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad product for certain applications, or that in 6 months or a year they won’t follow this up with a more consumer friendly release, especially after giving developers some time to build software for people to buy.

      • JJ

        I work closely with companies for AR/VR solutions. We’ve used the Daqri and the hololens before and were gona stick with the hololense. even for enterprise, the ML does not provide anything near that value. I guarantee nobody is going to use the ML. If there was any type of legit market or feesable use case for it then we’d get it but there simply isnt. Its difficult enough finding uses for the hololens, this is just impossible

        • @ $2,295 per head. If it can greatly improve on a device like an enterprise iPad then it could be useful but the actual use cases are slim at that cost per unit.

          I agree with @MosBen:disqus, if it was $600 then I can think of several clients that would shell out for it as a laptop/iPad replacement for their bespoke apps.

          • MosBen

            Just so we’re clear, I’m not suggesting that they should be selling this for $600. I don’t think that they can sell it for that price because it probably costs a lot more than that to manufacture. This is targeted at groups for whom $2k is not an unreasonable amount to spend on tech that adds value to what they do (if it does add value). That it seems like a lot to me from the perspective of a consumer electronics enthusiast is irrelevant.

          • Jerald Doerr

            I get what your saying… but they can’t sell it at that price $600 because they have to pay there investors back something? I don’t feel like evesters will even be happy with a I won a say free unit but maybe it’s better to say “Thank you unit with a F cuz we just robbed you bro!”

          • MosBen

            No, I’m sure that they can’t sell it for $600 because the thing costs a lot to make. Even if they take a gaming console model of initially selling the hardware at a slight loss and making that up on software sales, it can’t be an enormous loss. This is cutting edge hardware, and it’s expensive to build. If they could sell it for cheaper while not just bleeding money out with each unit sold, they would.

          • Aye, I understand that.

            Forgive my skepticism here….

            We already have Hololens v1 that fills the enterprise gap though. It has been out for a few years, has developers well versed with the hardware and software, no wires or belt box and Microsoft as the service provider.

            So who is this targeting? They showed a demo of a whale jumping out of a gymnasium floor with all the kids going woah, they showed a little elephant sitting on a childs hand. They showed a demo of a golem throwing a rock in your living room and a demo of music created with your hand. A spinning planet in the office, shooting robots in the office…..That is not enterprise, that is consumer or education.

            They call this the “creator edition”. Which is another way of saying it is a public beta so developers can look at it, compare it, and if interested develop for it but the risk is high, they over hyped it and might not be around in a year if this is the fruits of their glorious vision.

            What does it bring that will not be obsolete by Q1 2019 when an improved Hololens arrives?

        • MosBen

          That’s fair. It may well be the case that at the enterprise level ML1 simply can’t compete with Hololens, but that’s a different discussion than what most people here are doing. $2k isn’t crazy for an enterprise device or a dev kit, even if it seems like a lot from the consumer level. The people declaring this dead on arrival because it’s too expensive for widespread consumer adoption are missing what the target audience for this device is, and it’s not them.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      But it’s not targeted at everyday consumers.. it’s targeted as a developmentkit for future releases. And it can be a useful device in design and manufacturing processes..

  • HybridEnergy

    I hate this thing and I hate hearing about it already. It’s awful, it’s ugly, it’s useless, it’s expensive, it’s already been done before, and over invested in. AR is a cool concept but it’s where VR was 10 years ago, AR won’t really have a real looking sexy girl walking around your apartment for another 20 years guys…don’t bother.

    • JJ

      i agree all but the 20 years part though. id place a gentleman wager that within 5 years we will have decent AR. I only say this because i work with AR and see how slow it progresses but its still making good progress. The Leap motion team(NOT magic leap) keep releasing some great tech and software. So there are people doing good

      • Jerald Doerr

        If I was Leap Motion… I would have serious thoughts about a name change… unless there assuming everyone’s just going to forget about Magic Leap after it blast off!

        • JJ

          haha right or sue for defamation of name because its so close

          p.s. that a joke

      • HybridEnergy

        Good and real are different. I think AR can’t just pass off as good. It’s got to look not like a hologram, I have to think that chair is there and fall on my ass during a demo. Good holograms, 5 years away, tech where it looks like someone real is in front of me? 20+ years away…by then VR will already have no SDE , completely teleport you somewhere else, with full human FOV.

    • MasterElwood

      20? Nah. 7-8 is my guess.

      • HybridEnergy

        Nah, in 7-8 she’s be life size and there but still look like a hologram. I guarantee it. Those think about how epic VR will by by then.

  • brubble

    …to the sounds of crickets. This over-hyped POS is already dead and has been for a long long time.

    Pretty ‘healthy’ personal bank account though hey Rony?

  • Vegeta785

    $2,295! I rather buy the Vive Pro Vr System for €1,399, or $1,625.34!!

  • Foreign Devil

    $2,295 is actually a good price for a Chinese startup to buy it and reverse engineer it and then re-sell a knock-off at $500 to mass audience.

    • Jerald Doerr

      I would not even pay $500 for this piece of shit to waste power in the U.S… I don’t think I’d pay $250…. uh forget… If someone game me this thing… I might try it out… but I just don’t think I would feal OK even giving it to friend or selling it on EBay..

      much rather get an old school Nintendo Virtual Boy…

      • jeff courtney

        If I had a cool million in the bank I would have no problem buy it for five apps.I dont and many of us do not either.I would like to see that virtual boy come back.

  • jeff courtney

    Currently if you have any basic flagship phone you can pick up at bestbuy the lenovo jedi challenges which is only 200.Its used for much cheaper but buy new and return if you dont like it.Comes with three experiences and gameplay.It would be the ultimate buy if it was not exclusive to disney and star wars.At least if it had many disney experiences.Praise Jesus!

  • RJH

    Hololens & Magic Leap. What’s the difference? Discuss.

  • brubble

    Hmmm…what? Magic thing. Yeah, you know Im not really a fan of microwaved hotdogs. If you’re not mindful on timing they get all wrinkly and dried out like some weird jerky product. Absolutely Terrible. It’s either boiled or BBQ for this guy. European wieners are also nice with some fancy mustard and well fried onions.