Ivan Sutherland
A new report from The Information corroborates and expands on an earlier report by Bloomberg, stating that Apple is preparing to launch a next-generation virtual reality headset as early as next year, citing unidentified people with product knowledge.
Among the new revelations is that the new headset is supposed to have two 8K screens (one for each eye) and that Apple considered an exorbitant price of $ 3,000.
The headset (which the report claims to be code-named N301) will be able to display rich 3D graphics at that resolution, the report says, thanks to an ultra-fast M1 chip successor and because Apple will liberally use a well-known VR technique that involves the use of eye-treating to render objects on the user’s periphery with a fidelity lower than that on which the user is focusing.
This method is a bit like a more advanced version of the already widely used frustrum killing technique in video games, in which only what is visible on the screen at any given time is rendered, while the objects behind the player’s character are not drawn until the character starts to turn around. This is done to optimize performance and put as much computing power as possible into what the player is looking at.
In addition, the new story says that the headset will feature interchangeable head bands similar to Apple Watch straps, an external screen that can be used to show content to people near you or to check information when the headset is not on your head and a mesh fabric similar to what we saw on the company’s HomePod speakers.
At least one version of the headset Apple is testing includes more than a dozen cameras used for everything from tracking hand movement to delivering a live broadcast from the space around the user for augmented and mixed reality experiences, instead of just fully immersive VR.
The headset also has a sensor handle, which Apple has included in some recent iPhone and iPad models. Lidar scans the space in front of the sensor to quickly generate a 3D map for placing 3D objects, plus accurate shadows, occlusion and more.
Apple is still testing different input methods, including things used on the user’s hands or fingers, reading body and hand movements with the included cameras and sensors, and even a digital crown line button on the side of the headset. heard.
Is this the real deal?
For Apple to launch a VR headset anytime soon (if ever) would be an amazing move, to say the least.
The company has no developer APIs for VR beyond the nominal support for SteamVR SDK in its custom metal graphics API, even though it has spent years building very robust AR APIs. CEO Tim Cook has also publicly rejected VR in the past, citing his tendency to isolate users from those around him, among other factors. He has repeatedly pointed to augmented reality as Apple’s future focus.
Apple has been developing tools for creating augmented reality content since 2017. That’s when the company started using the iPhone and iPad – and their AR-enabled rear camera sets – as an expansion ground for AR developers who could create experiences for a future AR eyeglass application market. As a result of this groundwork, Apple’s AR glasses were able to see an immediate wave of high-quality apps at launch.
It is more difficult to imagine this situation with VR, so we were left wondering why Apple would focus on VR instead of RA to begin with when there is already a foundation for RA. And Apple is far behind in RV. The company made an indifferent foray into virtual reality with basic support for HTC Vive in Final Cut Pro and a few other tools along with the launch of the iMac Pro, but little was heard of this feature again.
While Apple worked closely with a very small cadre of VR developers during that short period in 2018, there is little, if any, publicly visible work being done now on VR software for Apple platforms. In addition, Apple did nothing to encourage him.
Arguments in defense of the narrative “Apple is building a consumer-facing virtual reality headset” include the fact that Apple’s recent silicon wins foreshadow much better graphics performance on mass-market mobile devices than earlier – and who knows how fast these chips will be by the end of 2022.
In addition, some of Apple’s biggest successes came from coming markets that have some resemblance to today’s RV space.
These were very promising markets, but the first participants had made only modest progress due to business or design limitations. Consider the iPod, which has swept a world of mediocre MP3 players, at best; the iPhone, which transformed a smartphone market that previously had only niche appeal; the Apple Watch, which was far from being the first wearable smartwatch, but was certainly the most successful; and even the personal computer itself in the early days of the company.
VR is in a similar state to some of these examples before Apple entered its spaces. It has niche fans and some modestly successful products. But it is difficult to imagine the virtual reality landscape as we now see it rapidly changing or becoming something conventional.
And the prospect of Apple taking virtual reality to the masses is hampered by the supposed price of this device. $ 3,000 is not a mass market price, no matter how strong the experience is compared to competitors.
Without an equivalent to the ecosystem of iOS and iPadOS AR apps and APIs to build, it is very difficult to imagine strong software support in launching this device compared to cheaper competitors, which would also make it difficult for consumers to adopt.
Therefore, it seems plausible that these reports may be accurate, but a critical caveat is missing: that this is actually a tool being made and marketed to developers to kick-start the software support journey for mixed reality glasses, similar to the kit developer Apple Silicon that Apple sent to devs after last year’s WWDC.
It is also possible – although unusual – that it is a niche product for very sophisticated consumers and a developer tool designed to make mixed reality software flow.
Both The Information and the author of Bloomberg’s previous story have proven to be generally reliable in reporting on Apple’s upcoming products in the past, so there is likely to be some truth to this story. Even so, it’s hard to believe that what we’ve seen so far is the full story. It just doesn’t make sense yet.
So yes, it looks like an Apple mixed reality headset is coming. That said, it is better to wait for more information before drawing many conclusions about the exact form it will take.