Apple is said to be readying a combined AR/VR headset, followed by a dedicated AR device. These speculations are rooted in reports by Bloomberg, The Information, and Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, as well as leaks from tech insiders.
These new products have been in the pipeline for a while. Apple has already released ARKit, a development kit that enables users to create interactive AR experiences. And it's built up its XR department through several augmented reality acquisitions: Metaio and Faceshift in 2015, FlybyMedia in 2016, Vrvana in 2017 and Akonia Holographics in 2018. At present, Apple's XR development team is said to be comprised of around 1,000 staff.
It's been established that two products are on their way. The first will be an AR/VR, or "mixed reality", headset sometime in 2023, while the second will be AR glasses – essentially a pair of spectacles with AR capabilities. These are likely to follow a year or two later, along with a second-generation headset.
You might be wondering what we mean by "mixed reality". Essentially, extended reality technologies cover a spectrum of immersion. At one end is VR, where your real-life surroundings are shut out to plunge you into a fully immersive experience. By contrast, augmented reality and mixed reality provide a modded version of reality. Your surroundings are overlaid with digital material – a familiar example being a Snapchat or Instagram filter.
The forthcoming Apple headset is going to provide both VR and AR. By contrast, the so-called "Apple Glasses" will have only AR capabilities.
So without further ado, let's take a closer look at Apple's forthcoming XR products.
AR/VR headset
One way of describing the headset is to compare it to existing XR wearables. VR tends to be associated with gaming headsets like the Oculus Quest 2 and PlayStation VR. The Apple headset is looking to be closer to the Microsoft HoloLens 2, but with more of an emphasis on gaming and video chat.
The headset will be usable without it being connected to an iPhone or Mac – a difference, as we'll see, from the AR glasses. Its processing power will be equivalent to that of the Apple Mac M-series chips, and it will have two 4k micro-OLED displays.
The focus of this product will be on VR, offering immersive viewing – possibly with an additional display at the edge of the user's field of vision. This sense of immersion will be deepened by cinematic, surround-sound-style spatial audio.
We don't know exactly what the headset will be capable of yet. But it's likely to be a combination of VR gaming – with a focus on creating new environments – augmented FaceTime and chat apps, and educational tools that could feature either VR or AR. It's unclear whether it will explore AR features in the same depth as the Apple Glasses that will be coming out later on.
The headset will be sleek and lightweight and probably operated by Siri voice control – although there has been some speculation as to whether it will also be operated by a hand control that looks somewhat like a thimble. It will contain over a dozen high-spec cameras.
It's said to look similar to an Oculus Quest, with a curved visor that attaches to the face with mesh and headbands. One headband will probably feature the spatial audio tech we mentioned above. In terms of weight, the emphasis is on lightness – it's reported to weigh around 200/300g, but Apple is said to have ambitions to make it even lighter.
As well as the headset, Apple is unrolling a dedicated app store, which will provide users with access to gaming, video streaming, and communications software. There's also talk of a new, dedicated operating system called rOS – the lower-case "r" standing for "reality".
In terms of a price point, the cutting-edge nature of this technology means that the headset will likely be on the market at around $2,000 to $3,000. To put this in context, Google Glass sold for around $1,500.
Apple Glasses
It's rumoured that the mixed reality headset will be followed by AR glasses. These have been dubbed "Apple Glass" or "Apple Glasses" by the press.
Much like the now-defunct Google Glass, this product is intended for everyday use and designed to resemble ordinary spectacles – although the exact appearance hasn't been made public yet.
Whereas the mixed reality headset is a standalone item, these smart glasses are intended as an iPhone accessory. Bloomberg reports that they'll sync up with your iPhone and "display things such as texts, emails, maps, and games over the user's field of vision" – essentially, a second, floating screen which allows you to keep your hands free.
The lenses are said to be ultra-thin, high-res OLED microdisplays provided by Sony, giving the glasses a 0.5-inch display with 1280 x 960 resolution.
The precise details of how it will be operated are still unclear, but it seems likely that there will be some kind of gestural control alongside your connected Apple device.
The decision to offload computing processes onto the iPhone, and have the glasses as an accessory, has been made to keep the glasses lightweight, lightness being a priority for Apple in their product development. Onboard processing would lead to an uncharacteristically chunky product.
In terms of cost, the glasses are probably going to start at $500, with a higher price if you get them fitted with prescription lenses. Even though they're still in development, and probably won't be with us for another few years, reports suggest that it's likely to be "'a pricey, niche precursor to a more ambitious augmented reality product".
Thanks for reading. If you're in the market for some assisted and augmented reality products, you've come to the right place. We stock transformative XR technology from top brands, including assisted reality wearables, smart glasses, and mixed reality headsets. And what's more, we let you try before you buy.