The group features former iPhone, iPad and Mac hardware and software engineering leaders, as well as key hires from NASA and industries spanning gaming, graphics and audio. But the division has seen departures of some key engineers to Meta and other companies in recent months.

The team developing the device works from its offices in Sunnyvale, California, just a few miles from the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, Bloomberg reported. The device has faced various challenges during development, such as finding compelling apps and content. Technical hurdles also included overheating and refinement of the device’s built-in cameras.

The company has been working on AR versions of its core iPhone apps for headphones, as well as new apps that will handle tasks like streaming immersive content and holding virtual meetings.

Apple’s headphones were originally planned for a 2019 unveiling, with a 2020 release, Bloomberg reported at the time. Apple later aimed to announce it in 2021 before a 2022 release, only to delay those plans again until later in 2022 or 2023.

During its development, the device faced pushback from former lead designer Jony Ive, who didn’t think Apple should release a headset that would take people out of the real world. Ive, who left Apple in 2019, preferred the augmented-reality-only glasses concept, but that product wouldn’t be ready until much later.

I have also rejected a plan for the headphones to have a stand-alone mode and an option that would make the device more powerful when paired wirelessly with a processing center in the user’s home. That plan was rejected and current versions of the device are standalone only. They include a more powerful variation of the M1 chip that appears in the company’s latest laptops.

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—Bloomberg News