Gurman reports the delay for Apple’s next big thing:

Apple’s earlier plan was to unveil the product in early spring at a launch event aimed at consumers. It could then provide more extensive details and development tools to third-party software developers at its annual June expo, known as WWDC. Now the company is aiming to debut all aspects of the device at that conference. The product would then go on sale later in the year.

WWDC always felt like the right place for this to happen to me.

If you believe the rumors so far, this won’t be a mass market product. Sure, everyone will have the opportunity to purchase it but given its rumored $3,000 price, inherent first generation product status, and already rumored cheaper and not far off follow up, this thing sounds more like a glorified dev kit to me. Where better to preview a dev kit than a developer conference?

There are a few important things Apple will have to address when they reveal this new class of device:

• The hardware and its raw capabilities—processing power, displays, I/O, battery, etc.
• The operating system. What are the core user experience conventions? How do users manage and launch software?
• Preview first party software to communicate the device’s value in real world situations. What can you use this thing for?

The last bit is most interesting to the average consumer but it’ll take time before the headset finds the apps that reveal its true worth; developers need time to build them. The first couple of points will help developers do just that. WWDC’s keynote would give enough of an overview to fill headlines and start the hype machine. The rest of the conference would lay the foundation for developers as they begin to explore the tools and frameworks made available to them. The slow trickle of discoveries from them during and after WWDC will serve as free marketing, too.