Apple’s first headset will focus on “high-quality” games, reporter claims

Enlarge / An augmented reality demo by Apple. (credit: Apple)

In the past few days, two new reports have shed light on the specifications and strategy behind Apple's upcoming mixed reality headset. Both claim that Apple is on a path to launching its first augmented reality/virtual reality headset as soon as next year and that the product will feature ultrahigh-end specifications and technologies.

Writing in his weekly Bloomberg newsletter, reporter Mark Gurman says the new headset will feature "advanced" chips, displays, and sensors and that it will have "avatar-based features." That latter point indicates that Apple has a similar vision for how the headset could be used to that of Meta, whose CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been declaring a vision of social interconnectedness through AR and VR experiences.

Gurman also writes that Apple's first headset will be a mixed reality one, supporting both VR and AR applications. The long-rumored consumer AR glasses will come much later, "years down the road." While investment has been pouring into research on AR technology, there remain numerous major technological roadblocks to mass-market consumer AR glasses, and it is unclear when all that investment might translate into a viable, mainstream product.

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