Apple

Best Wireless Bluetooth Keyboards For Meta Quest 2

January 18, 2022 From uploadvr

Looking to use an external wireless keyboard with your Meta Quest 2 headset? Here are the options.

Quest 2 now supports using Bluetooth keyboards with the headset in VR, both across the system and in Meta’s remote work solution, Horizon Workrooms.

While you can connect most Bluetooth keyboards to the Quest, only a few are fully compatible and considered ‘tracked’ keyboards in VR.

When connected, a tracked keyboard is represented in VR with a 1:1 model that matches the position and orientation of the keyboard in real life. It also shows an overlaid view of your hands above the keyboard, as pictured above. This allows you to use the physical keyboard as normal while in VR.

However, there aren’t many keyboards that support fully tracked functionality on Quest 2. Meta has said it wants to expand support to more keyboard models, but it’s proving “harder than expected.”

Without tracking, you will still be able to use a Bluetooth keyboard but you won’t be able to see it while in VR, making it much harder to type reliably.

So without further ado — here are the best keyboard options for Quest 2.

Logitech K830

The Logitech K830 is the best keyboard to pair with a Meta Quest headset.

This keyboard was the first to receive support and remains the best option, as it includes a trackpad on the side. This allows you to have full mouse and keyboard control with just one device in VR. The trackpad isn’t the most responsive but its inclusion is still welcome.

It’s also worth noting: this is specifically relating to the US model of the K830. Some users previously indicated that other international K830 models, such as the UK model, are not supported, but we haven’t be able to verify this ourselves.

Apple Magic Keyboard

The Apple Magic Keyboard is the second supported tracked keyboard on Quest 2. This keyboard is Apple’s standard wireless keyboard, often shipped with iMacs and other desktop Mac computers and also sold separately.

If you have an iMac or other desktop Mac with a Magic Keyboard, you’ll be able to disconnect it from that device and connect it to your Quest 2. Similarly, if you own a standalone Magic Keyboard or if you buy one, it can easily connect to Quest 2.

Any Bluetooth Keyboard

As mentioned above, you can connect any Bluetooth keyboard to Quest 2 and it should work fine. However, you won’t be able to see the keyboard at all while in VR, which is quite inconvenient.

However, if you’re using Horizon Workrooms specifically, you can use any keyboard and turn on the passthrough cutout feature on your desk. While using Workrooms, this will let you see your keyboard on your desk while in the app using passthrough — slightly better than the alternative. It should be noted though – in this instance, the keyboard should be paired with the computer you’re using in Workrooms via remote desktop, not your Quest.

Horizon Workrooms Bonus – Apple MacBook Pro

When using the virtual desktop feature of Horizon Workrooms, there is support for one additional keyboard type: the Apple MacBook Pro laptop keyboard.

This will only work when using virtual desktop in Workrooms — there’s no way to use or connect the keyboard directly to the Quest for general use — but it does give you one more tracked keyboard option for that service specifically. You can use it with the passthrough cutout and AR button labels (pictured above) or fully in VR with a tracked virtual keyboard model.

What keyboard are you using for your Quest 2? Let us know in the comments.

Report: Apple’s VR Headset Delayed to 2023 Amid Development Challenges

January 17, 2022 From roadtovr

Apple’s upcoming VR headset was purportedly slated to arrive sometime this year. Now according to a recent Bloomberg report, those launch plans may be delayed by a few months, potentially pushing release to 2023.

According to the report, Apple’s VR headset was originally set to get its big reveal at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this June, and would be subsequently released sometime later in 2022.

Citing people familiar with the situation, the report maintains that development challenges related to “overheating, cameras and software” have been stumbling blocks, likely pushing its 2022 launch to 2023.

Thermal challenges are owed to the standalone headset’s chipset, which is said to be similar in power to the M1 Pro chip released in the latest MacBook Pro.

It’s said that Apple is sourcing the device’s on-board cameras for passthrough AR from LG Innotek, however production may begin “as early as the second quarter of this year.”

As for software, the standalone is said to run its own operating system called rOS, which is said to focus on communication tools and media consumption.

Bloomberg’s source maintains that the Cupertino-based tech giant is planning to bring focus during its 2023 developer conference to filling out a bespoke virtual and augmented reality app store for the device.

Apple has purportedly informed supply-chain partners of the delay, however vendors have been instructed to have units available at the end of this year in preparation for launch.

Previous reports held that Apple’s upcoming VR headset will have AR capabilities, making it a precursor to its long-rumored full-fledged AR glasses. It’s rumored to be equipped with more than a dozen cameras for room-scale tracking, hand-tracking, eye-tracking, and passthrough AR. The device, which is allegedly fitted with dual 8K displays, is also said to cost $3,000.

Like all things Apple, none of that has been confirmed by the company, so we’ll just have to wait and see what specs and price Apple is targeting.

Meanwhile, Meta (formerly Facebook) is working on its own VR/AR headset, codenamed Project Cambria, which may be positioned as direct competition to Apple’s own when the time comes.

Granted, Meta has been leading the charge with consumer-focused devices that typically fit somewhere around console prices whilst Apple is, well, Apple. If these admittedly tantalizing reports can be believed, it appears both Apple and Meta are using VR headsets with passthrough AR (sometimes referred to as mixed reality) will play out as valuable test beds for future AR glasses—a thus far enterprise-focused segment that’s aiming to eventually replace the smartphone as the dominant portable computing device.

Apple’s Mixed Reality Headset Reportedly Delayed Until 2023

January 15, 2022 From vrscout

Looks like we might have to wait just a little while longer for the company’s combination VR/AR headset.

According to a new report by Bloomberg, Apple’s long-rumored VR/AR headset could be delayed until 2023 due to a combination of technical issues, citing “people familiar with the situation.” Sources claim the device was scheduled to be announced during the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June followed by an official launch later this year. Recent setbacks, however, may force the company to push the reveal back several months.

We first received word of a potential mixed reality headset in development at Apple back in 2018. Since then we’ve heard reports claiming the combination VR/AR device will feature everything from dual ultra high definition 8K displays with built-in eye-tracking technology, 12 cameras capable of supporting hand-tracking, swappable headbands, and a multitude of controller options.

Image Credit: Karl Mondon/Digital First Media/The Mercury News via Getty Images

According to Bloomberg’s sources, the headset has been in development since 2015 and is intended to replace the iPhone over the next 10 years. Unfortunately, it sounds as though consumers may have to wait until next year to get their hands on this highly-anticipated device. These same sources claim the company is looking to prep vendors for an early 2023 launch with next year’s developer conference supposedly focusing on VR and AR apps for the headset.

The company is also said to be working on a more advanced pair of dedicated AR glasses, which will supposedly release sometime after the mixed reality device. This past April, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that AR will be “critically important” for the company moving forward, saying, “I’m already seeing AR take off in some of these areas with use of the phone. And I think the promise is even greater in the future.”

**AR being demoed at the Apple Keynote. / Image Credit: Apple**

The upcoming iOS 16 update will reportedly lay the groundwork for the upcoming launch of the mixed reality headset, which means an official reveal could be imminent. Codenamed “Sydney,” the latest update is expected to arrive on iOS devices this June.

While Apple seems committed to VR/AR technology, the company has little to no interest in establishing its own metaverse and will instead focus its attention on delivering high-quality “bursts” of content. Since Facebook announced its switch to Meta, we’ve seen numerous companies, organizations, and public figures express their interest in the growing metaverse scene. That said, it appears as though Apple will remain out of the conversation.. for now.

Feature Image Credit: Apple

Editorial: With Apple Approaching, Meta Needs A More Intuitive VR User Experience

January 15, 2022 From uploadvr

As we head into 2022, the virtual and augmented reality industry is starting to look a little more competitive than it has in the last few years. But with Apple approaching the market, Meta needs to change its approach to user interface and experience in VR headsets.

Since its launch in 2019, Meta’s Quest platform has dominated the VR market. But with PSVR2 specs announced and Apple’s VR/AR headset potentially arriving as soon as this year, competition is on the rise.

Recent reports indicate that Apple and Meta are in competition over talent, both enticing their existing employees to stay while also trying to lure the competition away.

Meta is building up its AR efforts after showcasing its prototype AR project, Nazare, while also moving towards release of its Project Cambria headset later this year. Cambria is expected to feature high-resolution color passthough, eye and face tracking and much more.

A reported rough depiction of Apple’s unannounced mixed reality headset, drawn by The Information.

Apple’s VR/AR headset is expected to focus on mixed reality using high resolution color cameras, along with a 300-400 gram weight range, dual 4K OLED microdisplays and “M1 MacBook level performance.”

While Meta has seen the most success with the Quest platform, the expected specs for Cambria and Apple’s headset would position them more in competition with each other than with the Quest.

Both companies are essentially building towards the next big leap in personal computing. As they take these next steps, it becomes increasingly important for both Meta and Apple to pair cutting-edge hardware with a seamless and intuitive user interface and experience.

Guiding the User

For Apple, this is an area of expertise. Apple is known for providing an unparalleled, seamless experience within its own ecosystem. This intuitive ‘walled garden’ approach is both chided and praised from a wider technological standpoint, but the benefit to the Apple user experience is undeniable.

Apple pairs smartly-designed, intuitive user interfaces with a notorious “it just works” attitude to new software and features, capped off by unmatched integration across its own ecosystem of devices. For most users, Apple’s software is the easiest to instantly understand — the complicated technology gets out of the way. Apple’s interfaces are designed to be used with little instruction, from either the device or other people.

*Steve Jobs coining Apple’s now-infamous “it just works” mentality, on stage announcing iCloud at WWDC 2011.*

On the other side of the coin, Meta offers a very different approach to user interface and experience. Despite being one of the largest social media platforms in history, Facebook is a cluttered and confusing mess of an interface. This is partly because the site’s design is constantly changed, re-designed and evolved to improve engagement. It’s a live experiment in progress, always.

From a sales point of view, Quest 2 has been a phenomenal success and it’s now a fantastic content platform for some of VR’s biggest releases. However, the base user experience mimics the Facebook design principles of confusion, evolution and convolution.

Quest 2 runs a custom VR operating system, built around a modified version of Android. Meta has made significant improvements (both in terms of design and available features) to the OS since the original Quest launch in 2019. For dedicated users and those accustomed to advanced technology, the Quest UI does its job.

For a casual audience however, Quest 2’s interface and user experience is often clunky, unintuitive and confusing to navigate. Simple actions and features are frequently hard to find or hidden away.

*The latest iteration of the Quest 2 UI.*

This became apparent to me personally over the holiday period, while trying to help my Dad launch an app on his Quest 2. He only uses the headset once every few months, but is otherwise adept when it comes to phones, computers and other technology platforms.

What followed was a series of endless troubleshooting questions for very basic actions. “Have you found the app menu? It’s the icon with a grid of squares. It’s on the dashboard, at the bottom, can you see the dashboard? You bring it up by pressing the Oculus button. No, not that one. It’s the one that has no indentation, it’s flat, at the bottom of the face on the right controller. Can you see the dash now? Okay, can you find the app? It’s in the app menu…”

For a device that can fabricate an entire world around you, with limitless design options, it feels less natural and more confusing to navigate than almost any other platform. Meta’s UI on Quest obfuscates simple actions, over-complicates the basics and seemingly fails at guiding the user around the headset.

A Tale of Two Operating Systems

The reasons for this are somewhat clear – Meta does not have Apple’s breadth of experience in the computer platform realm. Apple have been doing this for decades, Meta just over one.

Perhaps some of the answers to these UI design problems will be solved with Meta’s proprietary VR/AR operating system, which is being developed internally and was, until recently, led by Mark Lucovsky (formerly of Microsoft, now developing an AR OS for Google).

*Meta’s upcoming Project Cambria headset.*

But with Cambria releasing this year, it seems unlikely it would run Meta’s proprietary OS — a continuation of the modified Android build pioneered for Quest seems like the safer bet.

Apple’s headset will probably feature much of the same design language, features and experience that has propelled Apple to become one of the most esteemed technology companies on the planet. So if Apple’s headset releases later this year, will Cambria’s competing user experience hold up to Apple’s standard?

Apple has spent more than a decade perfecting, streaming-lining and synergizing the design of its three big operating systems: iOS, MacOS and iPad OS. The upcoming headset is rumored to run its own operating system, rOS, and job openings describe engineers working on VR/AR problems alongside Apple’s existing UI frameworks and system software teams.

Meta may have a lead in the VR/AR content war and now seems laser-focused on building its own metaverse, but Apple could easily outplay them on a system software level. How? Let’s speculate on the hypothetical user experience offered by Apple’s upcoming headset, based off the company’s existing products and ecosystem-spanning features.

The (Hypothetical) Apple Headset Experience

Like most Apple devices, the headset will probably pair automatically with your account when placed in proximity to another Apple device you own, eliminating the need for almost any user setup. This would automatically connect the headset to your existing Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth and Apple devices, and your iCloud account.

In terms of user interface, the headset will likely borrow a lot of visual and interface cues from iOS/iPad OS, adapted for mixed reality. With an Apple chip inside, native support for existing 2D iOS and MacOS apps might be possible, if not expected. If so, automatic pairing would likely sync your existing app data and files across instantly using iCloud, syncing everything inside and outside of VR perfectly.

Apple Export — *Apple’s heavily-integrated product ecosystem.*

Likewise, the headset would instantly connect to your accessories, like AirPods, right out of the box. Screenshots or video recordings taken in VR or mixed reality will probably upload automatically to iCloud, ensuring easy access from other non-VR devices. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see other Apple services, like AirDrop or AirPlay, to be integrated at launch as well.

While all of the above is hypothetical, it’s not necessarily unlikely — new Apple devices tend to fit into the ecosystem perfectly. Ecosystem features like AirDrop and automatic pairing are standard fare on every new Apple device.

Many of these features are already available on Quest, some in a different or much less convenient manner. However, the way that Apple melds intuitive design with convenient features is what counts. The average consumer doesn’t have to search very far to AirDrop a photo from one device to another — it’s just a button press or two away at all times. On Quest 2, moving a screenshot from the headset to a phone or computer is unclear and cumbersome every step of the way. For ease of use and intuitive design, it’s still apples and oranges — even when counting recent improvements on Meta’s end.

If Cambria launches with such a low standard of user experience, then Apple’s headset shipping with AirDrop and other ecosystem staples would set it up to outclass Meta in several areas almost overnight.

A Fruitful Opportunity

Meta has arguably bought and developed its way to an impressive content library and feature set, but it lacks the experience to leverage that as part of an effective, integrated platform. At launch, the opposite might be true for Apple’s headset.

Both headsets are aiming higher than a gaming market — they are the next generation of personal computing. If Meta wants to compete with Apple on that level, then it will need to adapt and make some serious changes — and soon.

Clear and intuitive user experience is becoming increasingly crucial as VR reaches a wider audience. Apple joining the fray should present the industry with some well-needed competition in this department – let’s hope Meta bites back.

Report: Metaverse Escapism ‘Off Limits’ For Apple Headset

January 13, 2022 From uploadvr

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman shed light on Apple’s approach to the so-called “metaverse”, making it clear the company’s upcoming headset is expected to focus on “bursts” of gaming, content consumption and communication above all else.

The information was dropped in the paid edition of Gurman’s Apple and consumer tech newsletter for Bloomberg, Power On. The newsletter includes a section for Q&A with Gurman, which led to one reader sending in a question about the metaverse and how Apple will approach it.

Gurman posted his full response on his Twitter account for those who aren’t paid subscribers. Gurman has a long track record reporting accurately on Apple, so there’s a pretty substantial takeaway here that the company’s leadership doesn’t seem to be interested in a “metaverse” akin to the groundwork being laid in efforts like Meta’s Horizon Worlds. Gurman goes as far as to suggest the idea of a “completely virtual world where users can escape to” is “off limits from Apple.”

Gurman suggests Apple is focusing on making a headset designed for short-burst use, not all day, with a focus on “gaming, communication and content consumption.” An eventual fully augmented reality headset is supposedly Apple’s “real priority.” Gurman’s analysis is in line with public comments made by Apple CEO Tim Cook over the years. You can read a useful collection of comments Cook has made put together by The Verge, including “a significant portion of the population of developed countries, and eventually all countries, will have AR experiences every day, almost like eating three meals a day, it will become that much a part of you…VR I think is not going to be that big, compared to AR. I’m not saying it’s not important, it is important.”

Here’s a copy of Gurman’s response that he posted to Twitter:

Q: Do you think the Apple headset will be a full metaverse play? Or just focus on core AR and VR?

A: Here’s one word I’d be shocked to hear on stage when Apple announces its headset: metaverse. I’ve been told pretty directly that the idea of a completely virtual world where users can escape to – like they can in Meta Platforms/Facebook’s vision of the future – is off limits from Apple. Executives today at the highest levels of the company, and in the past like Jony Ive, have pushed for the virtual reality headset to not be an all-day device, and instead one that can be used for bursts of gaming, communication and content consumption. The augmented reality headset is Apple’s real priority because it can be worn all day and, naturally, not take anyone out of their real environment.

You can read more about Apple’s unannounced headset, potentially launching later this year, here.

Report: Lucrative Hiring Push Sees Microsoft, Apple Employees Defect To Meta

January 11, 2022 From uploadvr

Reports from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal indicate Microsoft and Apple employees are leaving to join Meta Platforms, as part of the latter company’s increased push into AR. To counter, Apple are offering some employees lucrative and unusual stock options as bonuses if they stay.

Meta, formerly Facebook, has consistently shown interest in expanding its VR/AR team for the last several years, including studio acquisitions and head-hunting competitors’ employees. However, the company’s recent emphasis on the metaverse and its latest product and prototype announcements seem to be resulting in an increased hiring push.

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft’s AR team (reportedly around 1500 people) has lost around 100 employees in the last year.

Of those staff, 70 were from the HoloLens team (headset pictured above), 40 of which went on to join Meta Platforms. This includes Charlie Han, former head of customer feedback for HoloLens, and Josh Miller, formerly part of the HoloLens display team and now display director at Meta.

Given their experience shipping an AR headset, former HoloLens staff would be enticing hires for Meta as part of the increased push towards consumer AR devices. In September, Meta shared a look at its prototype AR glasses project, subtitled Nazare, pictured below.

Microsoft also reportedly failed to hire ample new staff to manage the $20+ billion contract it signed with the US Army in April 2021. This army contract would see Microsoft supply ruggedized AR headsets, based on the HoloLens program, to frontline soldiers.

However, The Wall Street Journal reports that the program faced technical difficulties, particularly involving bringing high-quality night vision to the HoloLens. These strains reportedly enticed some members of the team to consider competitor offers. Despite this, Microsoft told the Wall Street Journal that it has a “strong team and is making progress on the project.” In October, the US Army announced it would move further testing of the project into 2022.

However, Microsoft is not the only one facing stiff competition in the VR/AR space. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is facing similar defections to Meta from within its AR/VR team.

More specifically, Bloomberg reports around 100 employees left Apple to join Meta in the last few months. That being said, Apple also reportedly managed to entice some key Meta employees across in the same period.

Apple is working toward release of a VR/AR mixed reality headset in the near future, potentially as early as this year, with high resolution color cameras for mixed reality. The embedded image above is a concept drawn by The Information, reportedly depicting an impression of the headset.

To counter Meta’s recent interest in its employees, Apple is reportedly offering some of its engineers lucrative and unusual stock bonuses to entice them to stay. These options, which would be vested over four years, are being offered to only some engineers in “silicon design, hardware, and select software and operations groups.” The bonus amounts range from $50,000 to $180,000, with “as much as $120,000 in shares.”

You can read the full reports at The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

Kuo: Apple Headset Is 300-400 Grams, Second Gen Will Be “Significantly Lighter”

December 10, 2021 From uploadvr

Apple’s rumored upcoming headset will weigh 300-400 grams, and the second generation will be “significantly lighter”, according to a note from Ming-Chi Kuo 9to5Mac claims to have viewed.

Kuo is a TF International Securities analyst known for predicting Apple products & moves over a year in advance using his supply chain sources. Apple Track gives him a 76% accuracy rating.

The Information, Bloomberg and Kuo all claim Apple will release a headset as early as 2022 with high resolution color cameras for mixed reality. Kuo previously claimed it will be priced at least $1000. In February The Information claimed to have viewed images of a late-stage prototype “which show a sleek, curved visor attached to the face by a mesh material and swappable headbands”. The outlet drew an impression:

Last week another note from Kuo MacRumors claims to have viewed suggested the headset will have dual 4K OLED microdisplays and a chip with M1 MacBook level performance.

While in March Kuo claimed prototypes weighed 200-300 grams with a target of 100-200 grams, in the new note viewed by 9to5Mac he says the first generation model will weigh 300-400 grams while the second generation will be “significantly lighter”. For comparison, Quest 2 weighs around 500 grams.

Kuo estimates the first generation model will sell around 3 million units in 2023, while the improved second generation will arrive in late 2024 to reach a market of 10 million. Meta hasn’t revealed how many units Quest 2 has sold, but the face foam recall documents and a comment from Qualcomm’s CEO suggest somewhere in the region of 5-10 million already.

But if Kuo’s reports to date are even semi-accurate Apple’s headset will be significantly lighter, more powerful, and higher resolution than Quest 2. It will likely compete with Project Cambria instead – Meta’s own upcoming take on a lightweight high end headset with color passthrough.

Apple Hiring AR/VR Frameworks Engineer For ‘Entirely New Application Paradigm’

December 7, 2021 From uploadvr

Apple posted a job listing for an ‘AR/VR Frameworks Engineer’, with the role described as “developing an entirely new application paradigm”.

The listing was shared by current Apple manager Hayden Lee on Twitter. A pioneer in the social VR space, Lee co-founded Convrge and worked early on at Bigscreen. He was hired by Apple in mid 2020 to work on AR/VR, and made manager in October, according to his LinkedIn page.

A software framework is a collection of components, assets, and functionalities developers can use instead of reinventing the wheel. What makes this listing interesting is how it hints at the approach Apple might take to AR/VR software.

The role is listed as involving “distributed systems” – software which runs across multiple coordinated networked computers (or in this case headsets), and asks for experience with real-time. Here’s how the job itself is described:

You will be researching and developing an entirely new application paradigm – a challenge that will demand rapid experimentation and prototyping without sacrificing code quality or attention to detail. Working closely with Apple’s UI frameworks, Human Interface designers and system software teams – this role will push you to think outside-the-box, and solve incredibly ambitious and interesting problems in the AR/VR space. You will have access to a wide variety of internal frameworks and services that will allow you to build software that is deeply integrated into our operating systems.

The reference to “an entirely new application paradigm” that is “deeply integrated into our operating systems” in a networked framework role suggests Apple might be exploring providing developers with high level tools to build inherently multi-user spatial apps. Such a framework could result in apps which can seamlessly be run by multiple headsets in the same space, or across the internet, with synchronized components like UI which follow best practices.

All of this is possible today manually or with a combination of 3rd party frameworks in engines like Unity and Unreal. But with ARKit’s RealityKit and RealityComposer Apple has already shown a desire to provide higher level tools handling tasks like materials, shadows, physics, animations, spatial audio, and more. This lets Apple work on perfecting these core technologies while developers focus on building the actual content instead of needing to replicate each themselves. For the user, that means more consistency and quality between applications, even those made with a low budget.

We have yet to hear details about the rumored rOS operating system for Apple’s rumored AR/VR headset, which could launch as early as next year. But this listing hints that despite all the hardware hype, Apple’s true innovation in this space could be a fundamentally different approach to software.

Apple CEO Tim Cook: AR Is One Of ‘Very Few Profound Technologies”

September 28, 2021 From uploadvr

In a recent interview with YouTuber iJustine, Tim Cook called himself “AR fan #1” and said he thinks it’s one of “very few profound technologies” that have the potential to permanently embed themselves in day-to-day life.

The comments on AR, prompted by a question from Justine, start around the 9:15 mark. Here’s a transcription of what he had to say (emphasis is our own):

You know, I am so excited about AR. I think AR is one of these very few profound technologies that we will look back on one day and, ‘How did we lives out without it?’ And so right now you can experience it in thousands of ways, using your iPad or your iPhone, but of course those will get better and better over time. Already, it’s a great way to shop, it’s a great way to learn, it enhances the learning process. I can’t wait for it to be even more important in collaboration and so forth. So I’m AR fan #1. I think it’s that big.

Simple things today that you can use it for, like if you’re shopping for a sofa or a chair or a lamp, in terms of experiencing it in your place… We’ve never been able to do that before until the last couple of years or so. And that’s at the early innings of AR, it will only get better

This is far from the first time Cook has been publicly bullish about AR. In April, he said it was “critically important” to Apple’s future, following on from comments two months earlier about how he thinks AR could one day attract as big of an audience as the iPhone. As far back as 2016, Tim Cook was telling Apple investors that AR will be huge but also take some time to get right.

Five years on, AR has come a long way but still has a ways to go. Facebook’s recent Ray-Ban smart glasses pave the way for that company’s public AR efforts, but Apple has yet to dip its toes into AR hardware beyond iPhone and iOS integration. It’s reported that this could change next year, with Apple rumored to launch an AR-VR headset in the second half of 2022 for anywhere between $1000-$2000 or more.

Report: Apple’s AR-VR Headset To Launch Second Half Of 2022

September 23, 2021 From uploadvr

Taiwanese news outlet DigiTimes claims Apple’s rumored AR-VR headset will launch in the second half of 2022.

More than half of the world’s chips are manufactured in Taiwan as well as many consumer products. DigiTimes tends to cite “supply chain sources”, but has a mixed track record on accuracy.

The Information, Bloomberg and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo all claim Apple will release a sleek AR-VR headset as early as 2022 with high resolution color cameras. In February The Information claimed to have viewed images of a late-stage prototype “which show a sleek, curved visor attached to the face by a mesh material and swappable headbands”. The outlet drew an impression:

The report claims the product is in a second phase of prototype testing, with mass production slated for Q2 2022 in time for a launch later in the year.

Ming-Chi Kuo predicted the headset will be priced around $1000, but DigiTimes reports the price may rise to more than $2000 due to high component costs. The outlet claims the frame is made from a high strength lightweight magnesium alloy containing rare earth elements.