Apple’s debut virtual reality headset could arrive in the first quarter of 2022, JPMorgan Chase Securities tech analyst Yang Weilun claims in a new note to investors.

The report says Apple’s VR headset will supposedly boast six lenses, lidar and a time-of-flight sensor. It will allegedly retail for upward of $500.

This seems to back up a recent report about the head-up display, which supposedly will serve as a precursor to augmented reality-focused Apple Glass. Bloomberg’s story said, “As a mostly virtual reality device, [the device] will display an all-encompassing 3-D digital environment for gaming, watching video and communicating. AR functionality, the ability to overlay images and information over a view of the real world, will be more limited.”

The story also noted that Apple’s VR headset could pack displays with higher resolutions than those found in competitors. It also supposedly will feature the next iteration of Apple Silicon chips, as found in the latest Macs.

Apple’s working on two headsets

A previous report suggested that Apple is working on two headsets currently. Published by Bloomberg last summer, it claimed that one device, code-named N301, will combine the “best of” VR and AR in a headset that can be used for both types of content. The second device, code-named N421, is “a lightweight pair of glasses using AR only.”

At the time, the publication said the AR/VR headset could be released in 2022. Meanwhile, Apple’s AR glasses would arrive “by 2023” at the earliest. It is likely that the second of these are the AR glasses previously discussed by the likes of Apple tipster Jon Prosser.

Source: China Times