CUPERTINO, California, June 5 Reuters Apple on Monday unveiled a costly augmentedreality headset called the Vision Pro in its riskiest bet since the introduction of the iPhone more than a decade ago, barging into a market dominated by Meta.

At its annual developer conference, Apple also introduced a raft of new products and features, including a 15inch MacBook Air, a powerful chip called M2 Ultra, improvements to its iOS software and a longawaited tweak to prevent its autocorrect from annoyingly changing a common expletive to ducking.

The Vision Pro will start at 3,499, more than three times the cost of the priciest headset in Meta39;s line of mixed and virtual reality devices.

The headset will test a market crowded with devices that have yet to gain traction with consumers and put it in direct competition with Facebookowner Meta after years of clashes between the companies over issues like user privacy and control of developer platforms.

Apple emphasized the novelty of the headset39;s augmented reality features as well as the sports and entertainment partnerships it would offer. The device will use a new chip called R1 that will process information from its sensors in less time than the blink of an eye, Apple said.

But the announcements failed to excite Wall Street, which had bid up Apple shares to a record high ahead of the launch. The stock was largely flat in postmarket trading.

Wealthy, techie early adopters will buy the Vision Pro in droves, but still years…