X

Magic Leap 2 headset to be unveiled at 'end of this year,' CEO says

The augmented reality hardware company is preparing to launch its next headset, CEO Peggy Johnson tells Protocol.

Carrie.jpg
Carrie.jpg
Carrie Mihalcik Former Managing Editor / News
Carrie was a managing editor at CNET focused on breaking and trending news. She'd been reporting and editing for more than a decade, including at the National Journal and Current TV.
Expertise Breaking News, Technology Credentials
  • Carrie has lived on both coasts and can definitively say that Chesapeake Bay blue crabs are the best.
See full bio
Carrie Mihalcik
2 min read
Magic Leap One augmented reality headset

The Magic Leap One launched in 2018. 

 Sarah Tew/CNET

Magic Leap's next augmented realty headset is on track to be unveiled later this year. In an interview with Protocol published on Tuesday, CEO Peggy Johnson said the Magic Leap 2 will be released through an early adopter program at the end of this year and will be more generally available in early 2022. 

Johnson said the new headset, which is intended for enterprise customers, will be lighter and have an improved field of view over the Magic Leap One. 

"For frontline workers, the product has to be something comfortable that they can wear all day long," Johnson told Protocol. "So we've made the product half the size, about 20% lighter. But most importantly, we've doubled the field of view. That's a hard thing to do. The optics around that are complex, but we have a very talented engineering team."

See also: The best VR headset for 2021

Johnson took over as CEO of Magic Leap last August after the company announced layoffs earlier in 2020 due to financial strains amid the coronavirus pandemic. Magic Leap, which was founded in 2011, originally had big consumer aspirations but pivoted to a more business-focused approach last year. 

The original Magic Leap One headset came out in 2018, and the company reportedly sold only 6,000 units in the first six months. The $2,295 device includes displays, audio and external camera sensors.

Johnson told Protocol that the company is "all focused on the enterprise for the launch of Magic Leap 2," adding that health care is an industry that's particularly exciting. 

"Augmented reality may transform health care more than any other industry, at least in the near term," Johnson said in the interview.