TechScape: Will Apple’s new VR headset be the one to finally catch on?
In this week's newsletter: The $3,000 product could be the next Apple gamechanger - or just another cool toy for those who can afford it
Next Monday will see Apple's worldwide developers conference kick off, and with it one of the company's two most important annual press events.
Typically, the keynote at WWDC (or dub dub") is a software-focused affair, previewing the next versions of iOS, macOS and so on for an audience of developers who need to get to grips with the updates before their launch in the autumn. It's balanced out by the hardware-focused events oriented around each year's iPhone launch, since Apple still likes to play the game of announcing and shipping its top-tier products in short order.
A tethered battery pack, designed to sit in the user's back pocket, to ease the tradeoff between power and performance on the one hand and weight and comfort on the other.
A screen on the front of the headset, designed solely to show the user's expressions to the outside world, with the goal of making it more comfortable to interact with people wearing the device.
A focus on passthrough" use, where a camera on the front of the screen shows the outside world to the wearer, with apps and features superimposed on top.
And, most importantly of all, a price tag of about $3,000.
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