The AR/VR headset likely coming from Apple in 2023 will not be the company’s next smash hit. It will have fans, just not huge numbers of them.
But this first headset will be an important stepping stone toward an Apple device that will change the world.
Apple’s much-rumored AR/VR header won’t use Face ID or Touch ID. Instead, the mixed-reality device will reportedly scan the iris of the wearer’s eye to identify them.
Perhaps the feature will be called Eye ID.
Companies working with Apple have reportedly filed for trademarks in multiple countries that might relate to Apple’s upcoming virtual reality and augmented reality headset. They are variations on “Reality,” and it’s possible the filings reveal the name for the device.
The Apple VR/AR headset could be unveiled as easily as the Mac-maker’s September 7 product lunch event.
The people who invented the iPhone are trying to invent what comes after the iPhone, and it sounds bonkers.
A secretive San Francisco startup called Humane appears to be developing a wearable, screen-less device that uses low-powered lasers to project information out into the wearer’s environment. And there’s not an AR/VR headset in sight.
Amazon already had a try-before-you-buy program for Prime members, where you can send an article of clothing back after trying it at home. On Thursday it added Virtual Try-On, an augmented reality (AR) experience where you can try on shoes without ever touching them via iOS.
All you need it the Amazon app and an iPhone to see how a pair of kicks will look on your feet.
Apple could use ultrasonic sound waves to deliver haptic feedback to wearers of its upcoming AR/VR headset when they interact with virtual objects.
Most consumer AR/VR headsets do not provide haptic feedback like that, but some high-end ones feature a basic vibration motor that does not give the desired effect. However, Apple’s new patent filings suggest it wants to solve this issue on its AR/VR headset by using ultrasonic sound waves.
The long-rumored Apple AR/VR headset won’t focus on games, according to a trove of information leaking out about the upcoming product. And it won’t emphasize helping designers create VR and AR content.
Much of the development effort seems to have gone into making a communication tool. But the design team has reportedly struggled to live up to Apple’s expectations that it’ll be better than existing headsets.
Apple is reportedly doing engineering validation tests on its much-rumored VR/AR headset. This is an important milestone in moving the product out of the lab and into production.
The device — which supposedly will offer both virtual reality and augmented reality capabilities — is expected to be unveiled later this year.
Another reference to Apple’s unreleased “realityOS” operating system leaked Wednesday in new open source code. It suggests the company’s highly anticipated mixed-reality headset is inching closer to its public debut.
The headset could appear this year — perhaps at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference — as many reports previously suggested. However, thanks to technical difficulties Apple recently encountered, we might have to wait until 2023.
Apple’s first mixed-reality headset will ship with the same 96W power adapter that you get with some 14-inch MacBook Pro models, according to an analyst, who says that’s proof the device will pack plenty of computing power.
TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also expects Apple’s “metaverse headset” to be around two to three years ahead of competing products. And he says it could sell as many as 3 million units during its first full year of availability, rising to 20 million units in 2025.
