Apple usually has its lips closed when it comes to posting details about anything before the “thing” is officially announced. But there is no shortage of rumors surrounding its VR / AR headset rumors.
The latest is that VR / AR headphones could arrive as early as January 2023. Although, the schedule for the upcoming release of Apple headphones is a bit of a moving target.
Following the May reports mentioning trademark filings, in a state of the virtual reality industry blog published in Medium, analyst Ming-Chi Ku predicts that Apple’s entry into space will be a catalyst for the growth of virtual and augmented reality, and baptizes the company. a “game changer for the headset industry.”
In his writing, Kuo predicts that Apple will launch an AR / MR (augmented / mixed reality) headset with transparent video capable of providing an immersive experience. Apple has focused its efforts primarily on AR, but Kuo says its hybrid headphones “will increase the demand for immersive gaming and multimedia entertainment.”
In February, software developers discovered references to “realityOS” in the App Store upload logs and GitHub repositories used by Apple. These sightings were posted on Twitter at the time by developers Rens Verhoeven and Steve Troughton-Smith.
What does Apple RealityOS do to the App Store upload logs?
AR / VR confirmed? pic.twitter.com/Wp7XWieeEU
– Rens Verhoeven (@renssies) January 17, 2022
In the previous tweet there are references to a “com.apple.platform.realityos” within the same block of code as an existing “com.apple.platform.watchos” platform. May reports said the realityOS name has reappeared in trademark filings apparently linked to the company. Vox Media product manager Parker Ortolani used Twitter to share two documents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that he found registered by an unknown company called Realityo Systems LLC. The trademark was filed on December 8, 2021 for categories such as “peripherals,” “software,” and “laptop hardware.”
While this could be the trademark of some random company, 9to5Mac believes there is evidence linking this specific trademark to Apple. Realityo Systems LLC shares the same address as Yosemite Research LLC, the interpreter company that Apple used to protect trademarks of earlier versions of its macOS operating system, including macOS Monterey.
The headphones, according to Kuo, will be the “most complicated product Apple has ever designed” and will consist of parts from various external suppliers.
According to reports earlier this year, Apple wants it to be known that it has no desire to follow Meta into the metavers when its AR headphones are released.
In a Bloomberg newsletter from Mark Gurman, we learned that Apple has rejected the idea of a fully virtual world for its long-rumored mixed reality headset. As you know, a fully virtual world is the premise of metavers. According to the report, the very idea of a metaverse-like existence for virtual reality headsets is “out of bounds.” Instead, he says the focus of Apple’s VR headsets would be on short stays of communication, content viewing, and gaming.
It looks like Apple CEO Tim Cook will not follow the example of Facebook, eh, Meta, and almost every other company that has intervened recently to discuss ways they can bring us closer to a poorly defined and ill-conceived future. where the physical and digital world merge through the use of virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality.
When we say “mixed reality” it usually means augmented reality / virtual reality. There are only several ways to view the device, but since the device has not yet been officially confirmed, we have to assume that it will be a virtual reality headset as you know it, but suffocated with the feeling of Apple.
While Apple has not confirmed any details about its headphones, recent reports have drawn a vivid picture of what to expect. The most revealing comes from The Information, which cites anonymous sources who say the headphones will work with a 5 nm TSMC chip (with a power similar to the M1). The headphones will include two 8K screens, more than a dozen cameras for manual tracking and will sell for more than $ 4,000. Oh, this thing is expected to incorporate 14 cameras as well.
Initial reports indicated that you may need an Apple iPhone to enjoy virtual reality headphones, but it looks like it will be the same as any other Apple device – the experience is better with an iPhone, but not a requirement.
Rumors about Apple’s mixed reality headphones have been around for over a year and we’ll keep you posted as soon as something new comes out of the noise.
This post has been updated since it was first published.