ARVR

Apple’s AR/VR mixed reality headset will be a standalone


(Pocket-lint) – Apple has been rumoured to be developing a mixed reality headset for years. And now, two reports about the still-yet-to-be-confirmed headset have come out in the past week.

The latest information comes from, well, The Information. It reveals Apple decided to go with a standalone mixed reality headset. This is something that the company has debated internally.

It sounds like Apple had a lot of trouble deciding whether to move forward with a more powerful VR headset that required a stationary base or a standalone headset. Apple AR and VR leader Mike Rockwell reportedly preferred the more powerful version with a station (a prototype was apparently powered by what’s now known as the M1 Ultra). But Apple executives ultimately went with the standalone product. Bloomberg first reported this in 2020. The decision has now caused issues with the development of the headset.

It was reportedly impossible for the headset’s team to go back to square one and create a single chip to handle all its tasks. Plus, it seems like engineers had difficulty incorporating over a dozen cameras on the headset. Jony Ive is also supposedly consulting on the design. He “prefers” a wearable batter, but the final design is still unknown, The Information said.

Keep in mind Apple is thought to have shown a mixed reality headset to its board of directors last week. If true, that suggests a launch is imminent. Will it debut at WWDC 2022 in June? Apple could wait until later in the year, perhaps when it announces the next iPhone. Some reports have claimed Apple’s AR/VR headset might not hit store shelves until 2023.

Finally, The Information said Apple is developing a pair of AR eyeglasses that look like Ray-Ban glasses. Those are “still many years away from release”.

Writing by Maggie Tillman.





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