Don’t panic, Apple should still release a mixed reality headset this year. But technical issues are forcing the tech giant to put plans for lightweight augmented reality glasses on hold. These glasses in the line of HoloLens are postponed.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Apple has postponed work on augmented reality indefinitely. And Apple would rather target the year 2024 for the release of its mixed reality headset.
This mixed reality headset is expected to cost around $3,000. But Bloomberg reports that Apple also plans to launch a cheaper mixed reality headset, priced around $1,500.
Augmented reality equipment is smaller and more complex to manufacture
In December, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo estimated that Apple would ship its mixed reality headset in the second half of 2023 rather than the second quarter, citing software issues as the reason. this late.
The mixed reality concept combines elements of augmented reality and virtual reality, with components such as eyeball tracking, multiple cameras, optics and lenses. Augmented reality users view the world through a lens overlaid with digital images and data. Virtual reality, meanwhile, found in headsets like Meta’s Oculus, locks users into a digital world.
And augmented reality devices look more like traditional goggles than headsets – and they’re smaller and more complex to make.
The headset would run on an Apple Mac M2 chip
Apple had until recently planned to unveil the headset this month, but pushed the event back to its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. Last year, it leaked that Apple might unveil the headset at WWDC 2022.
Apple has filed several trademark applications related to virtual reality, including “RealityOS”, “Reality One”, “Reality Pro” and “Reality Processor”. It is likely that the operating system will be called xrOS, while the device would be called Reality Pro. XR stands for eXtended Reality. Apple executives avoided the word “metaverse”, certainly fearing bad buzz.
The headset would run on an Apple Mac M2 chip, feature at least 10 cameras on the exterior and interior of the device, and super-high resolution displays.
Apple has built augmented reality features into the iPhone for years, but the augmented reality headset will be a real novelty as it becomes the iPhone maker’s first new category of hardware since the Apple Watch launched in 2015.
Source: “ZDNet.com”