More details known about the Apple mixed-reality headset

Apple, like some other tech giants, is busy with augmented reality glasses. Or rather, with mixed reality (MR). According to Apple, this is the future.

Apple mixed-reality headset not ‘dead’ after all

During the last WWDC, an Apple event for developers within the Apple environment in June 2022, it was very quiet about these glasses. This, while tech gurus had predicted that Apple will make announcements. Has the project died a quiet death? No, there are indeed indications that Apple is quietly continuing to develop.

For example, tech journalist Mike Gurman discovered in the beta version of iOS 16 that the source code was full of all kinds of references to mixed reality glasses. This indicates that Apple is quietly (definitely uncharacteristic of Apple) working on the further development of the glasses and wants to process them in the operating system.

Currently, the beta 3 version of iOS 16 has been rolled out to test users. But, except in the operating system, there has not yet been a launch of the MR glasses. Apple probably wants to prevent the glasses from becoming such a disappointment as the Metaverse of the former Facebook (now Meta) and to be on the safe side.

What is known in the meantime?

First of all, the date. Due to the corona vicissitudes in China, the originally planned launch date of early 2023 will not be met. Observers, such as Ming-Chi Kuo, therefore think that the glasses will probably be announced in the second quarter of 2023, and then production will start.

Interested developers will be able to order a development kit 2-4 weeks after the announcement. The production lines will then also be started up, so that the glasses can be delivered quickly at the official launch, probably well into the second half of 2023.

Cheaper and more expensive variant

Originally, observers thought that the glasses would have an affordable price of € 1000 for wealthier consumers. According to new rumors, the price will be considerably higher, around € 3000. That makes it especially interesting for the industry, but also, for example, the Microsoft Hololens focuses on. The good news for our consumers is that Apple won’t stop there.

Apple has registered some trademarks with the word “reality” in them, such as Apple Reality Pro, Reality One, and Reality Processor. Gurman therefore thinks that the glasses will be released under this name. These most expensive glasses will then be the Pro version. This Pro version will be released this year. The cheaper versions in 2024 and 2025.

Fifteen cameras

There will also be two cheaper glasses: a stripped-down version of the Pro, the (Gurman suspects) Reality One and one especially for augmented reality, the Reality Processor. For these high amounts you get quite a bit of hardware.

For example, 12-15 cameras will probably be attached to the glasses, one to observe the environment and six for “innovative biometric functions”, Kuo suspects. For example, it will be possible to pay with the help of an iris scan. And of course the cameras observe your hand movements so that they can be processed in the virtual world.

With the help of these cameras and the powerful hardware, an image of around 4000 x 4000 pixels is produced. This would be groundbreaking. Of course it takes a lot of calculations, which Apple may want to do with its powerful M2 chip. This very economical chip is perfect for this job. We don’t know exactly what it will be, but thanks to this leak, for example, it is becoming increasingly clear.