Apple hits record high ahead of VR headset unveiling

Apple shares hit a record high Monday as the company prepares to launch a number of new updates and products, including its widely anticipated mixed-reality headset, at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

Shares of the company are up more than 1.5% Monday morning and trading above $182.01, the closing high it hit on Jan. 3, 2022, and above its intra-day high from the following day of $182.94. Apple's stock is up more than 39% year to date, while the Nasdaq is up around 26.5% for the same period.

Apple's headset, according to reports, will feature high-definition screens in front of the user's eyes. But it could also let users see and interact with the real world through high-powered cameras mounted on the device, a trick sometimes called passthrough or mixed reality.

The new headset from Apple would mark new investment into a technology that has been fraught with disillusionment.

When Facebook rebranded as Meta in October 2021, it drew attention to VR and the metaverse headsets. But since then, sales for existing VR headsets have underperformed, usage has been worse and the anticipated explosion in successful VR software companies isn't yet a reality.

Shares of Meta were down around 1% early Monday.

— CNBC's Kif Leswing contributed to this report.