It’s taken Apple a long time to get into the complicated world of VR/AR mixed-reality headsets. Rumours of the company’s headset have been floating around for years now but it only now seems like Apple is finally ready to push out its latest product, making good on its experiments with augmented reality and blending that with virtual reality for consumers, developers and professionals.
Though, before I get into details, it’s important to note that the Apple VR/AR headset will be different from the Apple Glasses, which is another long-rumoured product that should be nearing a release date this year. While Apple Glasses are purely focused on augmented reality, the VR/AR headset will blend the two digital spaces, aligning it more as a competitor for Meta Quest 2, PSVR 2 and the various other VR headsets that exist on the market.
What Is The Difference Between AR And VR?
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are often confused but they are two completely different technologies. Essentially, AR uses a real-world setting so users can control their presence in reality – augmenting it if you will – while VR is 100% virtual and doesn’t need the real world to exist. As such, users can engage AR without a headset while on the other hand, you’d need a headset to dial in virtual reality.
Think about Pokemon Go. The mobile-only game uses AR with your smartphone’s camera to smartly blend the world of Pokemon with what you see and do every single day. You don’t need a headset for that. Whereas virtual reality is a completely fabricated world that you wear on your head, blocking you out from reality and sucking you into bespoke realities like VR video games.
Apple AR/VR – Everything You Need To Know
When is Apple’s VR headset coming out and how much will it cost? Those are answers we just don’t have right now but we’ve never been closer to seeing what the company does with its advanced displayed technology and mixed-reality headset.
Current rumours suggest that Apple could announce details for the AR/VR headset as soon as June 5 as part of the annual WWDC23 (Worldwide Developers Conference), which runs for four days and typically highlights the latest iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS advancements for the tech giant.
It’s also assumed that the Apple VR headset will be going by the name Apple Reality, perhaps to reiterate that this is a mixed-reality headset using both AR and VR and not one or the other.
According to Bloomberg, Apple Reality will be similar to the Quest 2 in terms of size with a fabric exterior and will include features such as the ability to accurately track hand movements so that using a virtual keyboard works seamlessly. No official word has been confirmed when it comes to the internal structure but some think that Apple will use something even more advanced than the highly efficient M1 chip
Thanks to an extensive report by The Information, we know that Apple should be throwing a considerable amount of hardware at the device, with 12 tracking cameras that can feed information to dual 8K displays that materialised in front of the user’s eyes. Apple will reportedly also use LiDAR sensors, which are used to measure distance quickly and accurately (they are commonly used in robot vacuum cleaners).
The number of exterior cameras and sensors will help the Apple AR/VR headset do more than what your typical VR headset is capable of. This includes more accurate body tracking and seamless integration of real-world environments into the virtual space. However, there seems to be no scope for the metaverse like there is with the Meta Quest Pro.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who is a notoriously on-the-money Apple leaker, has said the Apple VR headset will be strictly about short trips into VR and is not designed to be worn all day as a replacement for real-life.
As for pricing. The jury is still out on how much Apple will be charging for what could be its most important device to date. Tim Cook has mentioned before that AR is Apple’s ultimate goal so the first expression of that would likely be pretty pricey. Rumours suggest the price tag will land between $2,000 and $3,000, which is punchy for consumers but could be more about attracting programmers and developers for industry use.
Gurman also claims that the Apple VR headset will focus mainly on gaming, communication and media consumption, which would suggest that consumers are the focus. This could, however, be referring to a second VR headset with one more expensive device geared for programmers and one more affordable device aimed at consumers. Assumedly, these would go by the names Apple Reality and Apple Reality Pro.
Whether or not all these rumours hold weight, we should get details on the Apple mixed-reality headset in just a few months as June 5 and WWDC23 rolls around.
