Apple Is Expected To Launch High-End Mixed-Reality Headset As Early As Next Year
Image 160780715 © Max421 | Dreamstime.com
Mixed reality is becoming the new buzzword. The world is largely pandemic-weary, and escaping into the universe of a movie or book just doesn’t seem to be cutting it anymore.
Companies are, of course, scrambling to be the first to deliver this experience. Apart from a certain social media company rebranding to Meta just last week, Apple is, unsurprisingly, also part of this race to a new reality. It has been rumored for a while now that the tech company is developing some sort of augmented-reality (AR) or virtual-reality (VR) headset, but not much is known of it.
In the latest edition of his newsletter, Power On, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg has some nuggets of information to share. After the years of planning and presumed development, it seems that this device might just be ready for announcement soon, with a seemingly more solid release date.
Gurman, as cited by 9to5Mac, writes that Apple plans to “unleash its own pricey device” that will incorporate “advanced chips, displays, sensor, and avatar-based features” and it’ll come “as early as next year.”
It will have both AR and VR capabilities, hence the mixed-reality name and branding. He also notes that it will be able to “handle games in high-quality virtual reality.” Although gaming can be done in both AR and VR, only the latter will deliver “seriously high-performance games with top-tier graphics.”
Apple’s macOS isn’t exactly known for being the go-to system for gaming, so it’ll be interesting to see how these headsets will pack their punch.
Like the first iPhone wasn’t the only iPhone, this headset won’t be the one and only, either. While this is a mixed-reality device, Apple could have plans to release a VR-only or AR-only one afterwards. Gurman’s final sentence reads, “years down the road, you’ll see a true AR-only headset.”
It all does seem to check out: Tim Cook has been notably enthusiastic about the prospects of an AR-enhanced future, having once stated that it’s “critically” important to the company’s future.
It is also believed that these headsets will be part of the last major category he’d like to oversee before he retires.
[via 9to5Mac, image 160780715 © Max421 | Dreamstime.com]
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