Apple’s mixed reality headset hasn’t been officially confirmed yet – but it may as well have been with all the rumors, leaks, and acquisitions surrounding virtual reality and augmented reality tech.
Unlike the company’s long-rumored Apple Glasses, the Apple MR headset will not only create completely digital experiences but will include AR components that enhance our real-world spaces.
Codenamed N301, Apple’s MR headset is expected to be more expensive and less widespread than the Glasses – but will arrive sooner in an attempt to recuperate early development costs while Apple’s team continue its work on the company’s AR glasses.
More recent reports from December 2021 suggest that even though the MR headset hasn’t been officially announced yet, Apple is making bold plans for the future.
Regular Apple analyst and insider Ming-Chi Kuo shared new details about the company’s mixed reality ambitions saying that this first-generation device will set the bar for premium virtual reality and augmented reality hardware to come. Additionally, a sequel headset is expected to arrive fairly soon after the first drops – likely following Apple’s two-year life cycle for products.
But it’s still early days, for now here’s everything we know about the Apple MR headset, as well as all the features we hope to see when it launches.
We’re expecting this MR headset to be a high-spec, premium-level device that’s as powerful as a MacBook Pro – but Apple may only let you use it in short bursts.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? A mixed reality headset from Apple incorporating VR and AR
- When will it release? Expected 2022
- How much is it? Estimated $3,000 / £2,200, AU$4,400
Apple MR headset release date and price
Early in 2021 Bloomberg sources suggested that Apple’s first MR headset would release in the first quarter of 2022.
Since then few details have emerged to contradict this however many of these same sources also claimed that the MR device faced multiple development challenges, so it’s possible that challenges have persisted or been made worse by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic pushing the headset release further into the year.
Even if it has been delayed, we’re still expecting to see Apple’s MR headset before 2023. In a more recent update Ming-Chi Kuo (an analyst with a great track record for Apple leaks) suggested the device would have a 2022 release in a research report seen by MacRumors.
Further, Mark Gurman (a writer with a good track record for Apple information) has also said to expect this headset in 2022, and claimed that it’ll be pricey – it’s probably going to have some premium-level specs.
Indeed, while a price hasn’t yet been confirmed, a report by The Information has the Apple MR headset priced at an eye-watering $3,000 / $2,200 / AU$ 4,400.
This estimate has been somewhat corroborated by Bloomberg, whose sources have said Apple expects the MR headset to sell roughly one unit per store per day. These figures match up with the approximate sales of the Mac Pro Desktop that costs $5,999 (about £4,730, AU$8.720) suggesting the headset will carry a similar price tag.
We might be in luck though, more recent reports from Ming-Chi Kuo have said that Apple supposedly now wants to ship 3 million units – considerably more than previously suggested.
While the company may still decide to opt for a price in the region of around $3,000 it may struggle to achieve these targets with such a high price meaning the headset may not be as expensive as once thought at launch.
Apple MR headset rumors and leaks
As powerful as a MacBook Pro – but you won’t be able to use it for long
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via AppleInsider) predicts that the Apple headset will likely have the same M1 chip and similar computing power as the MacBook Pro, given the Apple MR headset reportedly requires the same 96W charger as the premium laptop.
Unfortunately, though, this impressive power may come with limitations, as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman cites multiple sources in saying that the Apple headset is designed to be used only in short bursts. Supposedly this is a mandated limitation to rebel against ideas like the Metaverse which would require you to use the headset for long periods of time.
We suspect Apple would achieve this by intentionally installing a small battery that require frequent recharging rather than imposing
Extremely lightweight
According to new rumors, the Apple MR headset could weigh just 150 grams. That’s less than the combined weight of the Air Pod Max and its case, or the weight of an iPhone 12. This would also make Apple’s headset over two-thirds lighter than the Oculus Quest 2.
How Apple hopes to pull this off while also providing enough tech and power to provide a fulfilling experience remains to be seen. It’s possible that this less heavy design won’t include all the features listed below (like 8K screens) and could instead use the company’s recently patented hologram tech.
Big mixed reality ambitions
Recent reports suggest that even though the MR headset hasn’t been officially announced yet, Apple is making bold plans for the future.
Regular Apple analyst and insider Ming-Chi Kuo has shared new details about the company’s mixed reality ambitions, detailing this first generation device, which will then set the bar for premium virtual reality and augmented reality hardware to come with a second-gen headset to follow shortly after.
Dual 8K screens
One feature that seems almost certain given the plethora of leaks is the MR headset’s dual 8K displays. At 7680 x 4320 resolution, that’s four times as many pixels as a 4K screen and significantly more pixels than any other commercially available device.
For comparison, the Valve Index VR headset uses two 1440 x 1600 pixel displays. Take this information with a pinch of salt, though, as it’s merely based on leaks, but a lot of the sources we’ve heard from suggest this is the case.
Eye-tracking software
For those who might be worried about those 8K screens eating up battery life and requiring huge processors, Apple apparently has a plan, based on rumors we’ve heard. Eye-tracking software in the headset is designed to follow where the user is looking and only activate that portion of the screen at the full 8K resolution.
Other areas of the screen will allegedly become more blurred, to save on processing power, using a trick called foveated rendering.
LiDAR scanning
LiDAR scanning is a nifty new way for devices to detect the world around them, and we’ve seen Apple use it on products like the iPad Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro / iPhone 12 Pro Max.
In a system that’s similar to radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) uses lasers to determine the distance and depth of objects.
This tool is great for AR, allowing devices to more accurately map virtual constructs onto real-life objects, but could also be used with VR to map out a room and determine the safe space surrounding a user.
Wearable controller
One interesting feature that could be coming to the Apple MR headset is a wearable controller that can track finger movements. A new patent was filed for a “Self-Mixing Interferometry-Based Gesture Input System” that tracks a user’s hand movements using rings attached to the thumb and index finger.
The patent goes onto say this tracking would “provide input to an AR, VR, or MR application.“ We could also see this device used for Apple’s AR headset, as well. Potentially, this controller would be an optional peripheral – like the Apple Pencil – that’s released at a later date and could be used across Apple’s different headsets.
A second patent suggests you might also get a haptic sock, but it’s yet to be seen if this would work as a controller, or indeed will even get made at all.
This rumors feed into more recent reports, which suggest that Apple might be employing 3D sensors for hand tracking, potentially eliminating the need for traditional physical controllers.
As reported by The Verge, reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s research notes on the Apple AR headset suggest that the rumored device could feature fully 3D hand tracking, and a user interface that detects and makes use of physical objects in your immediate surroundings.
3D finger modeling and in-air gesture recognition
Apple has also been granted a patent relating to the 3D modeling of fingers for in-air gesture recognition – suggesting a system capable of using virtual limbs to navigate virtual environments.
The patent refers to both finger gestures and visual touch detection, with figure images outlining how the system might work.
In the above image, for example, a diagram illustrates a potential system setup for generating a 3D model of a fingertip using a combination of cameras and depth sensors. The accompanying text also references contour alignment-based algorithms that could be used to enable hand tracking.
While this approach to finger tracking may be new, the actual result sounds similar to the tracking software we’ve seen in existing VR headsets, like the Oculus Quest 2.
Invisible markers on Apple devices
We’ve also heard mutterings of invisible markers that would let a mixed reality headset better interact with a smartphone.
A freshly-awarded patent describes how AR glasses may struggle to identify a smartphone in their field of view, and how it differs from other displays – say a laptop or TV display. This would make it difficult for the two devices to interact effectively, with AR information that should be triggered by and associated with a mobile device not appearing. The same principles, we’d assume, would apply to a VR headset.
The solution, then, would potentially be to place on the phone (or Apple Watch, or any other accessory for that matter) visual markers that include “spectral reflectance codes.” These would make use of retroreflective materials, photoluminescent materials and thin-film interference filter layers, that could be identified by the headset, but would be near-invisible on the device to a user. These markers could then tell the headset information relating to shape, orientation, size and location in the real world.
A blend of VR and AR
It’s challenging to separate a lot of the rumors about Apple’s upcoming headset at the moment, as some apply to the Apple Glasses – expected later. But it looks like the VR headset could have elements of AR too making it an MR headset. According to Kuo, the headset will be capable of both AR and VR, with the latter enabled by a pair of 4K Micro OLED displays from Sony. In the same update he also revealed it could be powered by a chipset similar to the M1 that we’ve seen in some Macs and the iPad Pro 2021.
Kuo says that all this power will mean it can work independently of an iPhone or Mac, and that it will include a second lower-end processor that will power the sensors in the device. This secondary processor will apparently be necessary due to the large number of sensor-related aspects.
What we want to see
Wireless headset
Previous rumors about the VR headset had suggested that it would be wireless, though these came just three years ago. The Information’s alleged design in the image above does maintain this look, but with many more months ahead before release, the design of the headset is still subject to change.
While wireless headsets like the Oculus Quest 2 might lose something in performance to the PC-powered alternatives such as the Valve Index, the freedom of movement and improved immersion of a wireless device are a massive benefit if they can be included.
If Apple’s headset is indeed sporting two 8K screens, it may need quite a lot of power pumped into its shell, so our wireless dreams may not become reality.
As light as a feather
Apple’s VR headset will have some weight to it, but we’re hoping it isn’t too much of a strain on a user’s neck. Given how powerful the thing sounds, such as having those high-resolution screens, there’s reason to worry about the weight we’ll be carrying around on our heads.
Those rumors of a lightweight device listed above are promising, but we’re still hoping Apple’s design team is able to devise a way to keep the VR headset as light as possible, or at least distribute the weight to make wearing it comfortable.
Haptic controllers
Haptic feedback has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, and we hope Apple’s team takes note of the success of the Valve Index and the PS5’s DualSense controller in this department. While it is then on software designers to implement haptic feedback effectively, having the hardware there will allow them the option to create more lifelike experiences.
While we’ve already detailed potentially-conflicting reports of both haptic fingertips and completely-virtual finger tracking on the headset, we’re hoping that, whichever system Apple decides to pursue, this doesn’t come at the expense of immersion.
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