Apple Hints At All-New 3D World For VR Headset In Job Listings

New job listings by Apple give enthusiasts an exciting look into the development of its elusive mixed-reality headset, which will likely hit the market sometime next year. The findings and analysis were reported in the Power On newsletter by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

Over the last few months, several changes have been made to the Technology Development Group (TDG) overseeing the production of the headset.

Many of the job advertisements were looking for engineers who could work on development tools in the virtual reality and augmented reality departments and on App Intents to integrate Siri and Shortcuts into the device, suggesting a video service for the device that can play 3D content.

However, one of the more interesting offers was explicitly for an employee who could work on a 3D mixed-reality world. Gurman posits that this is a possible look into how Apple’s digital world might look. He even likened it to the metaverse, though he does not fail to mention that in a recent event, the company’s marketing chief, Greg Joswiak, said that the metaverse is “a word I’ll never use.”

With that being said, and knowing how Apple likes to march to the beat of its own drum, fans can expect something similar, but with all the finesse the tech giant usually brings to the table.

This particular job description also notes that the potential hiree will work with Apple’s UI framework, human interface designers, and system capabilities teams.

Other changes to the team include rehiring Dave Scott, who had previously worked on the company’s ‘Project Titan’ self-driving car until 2021. Scott eventually left the project to serve as CEO of a healthcare startup, and his move back to Apple signals potential healthcare applications for the gear.

As the year approaches 2023, the rumor mill surrounding the headset’s release has been rife with speculation. Earlier in the year, Apple accidentally confirmed that a ‘Reality OS’ user interface was in the works.

More recently, there was news that the gear would adopt a tiered pricing system much like the iPhones, with a rumored ‘Reality Pro’ offering the maximum number of features and two lower pricing points below. Other rumors include possible iris scanning to log in and out of your headset for ease and continuity.

[via Bloomberg, cover photo 23790881 © Songquan Deng | Dreamstime.com]