This reminds me a lot of the lead up to the iPad announcement. A lot of buzz about a super high price and limited functionality (it’s just a big iPhone!) and the the actual price is significantly lower (though this “leak” is already about half of what the other “leaks” have been estimating).
I wouldn’t be surprised if this is Apple marketing or Wall Street traders inserting information into the news cycle. For Apple, the benefit is obviously to exceed expectations when they release an $800 headset (still expensive, but so much cheaper to someone who had mentally allocated $1,600). For Wall Street, anything to get the stock price to move one way or the other is valuable.
That's wishful thinking. Given the estimated BOM of 1500 to 1600 USD, the originally leaked ~3000 USD end user price is much more plausible. The BOM doesn't include costs of development, marketing, or profit margins.
The original reported price of $3,000 is not unrealistic. If this BOM is real, a $3,000 price point would be roughly similar to the profit margins of their other hardware products. The past few months have probably seen a lot of closed-door headset demos, and I wouldn't be surprised if the price was a major point of feedback for many people.
I doubt Apple discusses pricing with the people it gives demos too or even partners creating content. The only people who know the price are finance, marketing, and C-level.
To the contrary, I'd wager the price is the first thing every Apple shareholder would care about after demoing a VR product. Many of these people are not stupid investors and know the market is hot. Even if Apple doesn't explicitly tell them the price, these people know that price is a constraining factor. Especially if they're handed a piece of hardware with a battery dangling off the side like it's a 2012 Oculus demokit.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this is Apple marketing or Wall Street traders inserting information into the news cycle. For Apple, the benefit is obviously to exceed expectations when they release an $800 headset (still expensive, but so much cheaper to someone who had mentally allocated $1,600). For Wall Street, anything to get the stock price to move one way or the other is valuable.