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After the rumors about Apple's mixed reality and AR headsets had taken a break, there have been increasing reports about these two products in recent weeks. Now there is more information.
In its latest newsletter issue “Power On” writes Bloomberg's Mark Gurman on Apple's plans for these two devices. Gurman doesn't initially believe that Apple's first mixed reality headset will be a Mac, iPhone or iPad replacement. Instead, he is convinced that it will focus on three main areas: gaming, media consumption and communication. He writes:
Gaming is likely to be a focus of the device, especially since it will have multiple processors, a cooling fan, extremely high-resolution displays, and its own app store. Expect Apple to position the device as a game developer's dream. Next is media consumption. I expect Apple to work with media partners to create content that can be viewed on the device in VR. Third: communication. Expect Animojis and a VR FaceTime-like experience to be the Zoom of the modern age.
Apple headset is expected to cost at least $3,000
While Apple's future with its mixed reality headset looks promising, it will depend largely on developer and customer support. In October, Gurman discussed the fact that the product will be "expensive," as the company plans to launch the mixed reality headset as early as 2022. At the time, he wrote:
Apple plans to launch its own expensive device with advanced chips, displays, sensors and avatar-based features as early as next year.
A few months ago, a report claimed that this new mixed reality device could cost at least $3,000, which confirms Gurman's statement about the high price of the device. With Apple already delighting its users with the new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, it's only a matter of time before the company can combine all these parts together.
New product could be released in late 2022
In another report, Gurman stated that this headset will have "both AR and VR capabilities" and that Apple is aiming for a "mixed reality experience that enables gaming in high-quality virtual reality." While Gurman is betting that the mixed reality headset will be the first product in this new segment Apple plans to enter, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has spoken more about the company's plans for a future AR headset. According to Kuo, Apple's AR headset will feature a processor "with the same processing power as the Mac." He also believes that the chip design will be the biggest difference between the Apple AR headset and its competitors. Furthermore, the analyst believes the headset will launch with two processors in Q4 2022.
The high-end processor will have similar processing power to the M1 for Mac while the low-end processor will be responsible for sensor-related calculations.
Currently, everything indicates that Apple will launch its first headset product in 2022. So the next few months are sure to be exciting. (Photo by Rawpixel.com / Bigstockphoto)
