[Rumor] Bloomberg: Apple’s First Headset to Be Niche Precursor to Eventual AR Glasses

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Apple Inc.’s first crack at a headset is designed to be a pricey, niche precursor to a more ambitious augmented reality product that will take longer to develop, according to people with knowledge of the matter.



The initial device has confronted several development hurdles and the company has conservative sales expectations, illustrating how challenging it will be to bring this nascent consumer technology to the masses.



As a mostly virtual reality device, it will display an all-encompassing 3-D digital environment for gaming, watching video and communicating. AR functionality, the ability to overlay images and information over a view of the real world, will be more limited. Apple has planned to launch the product as soon as 2022, going up against Facebook Inc.’s Oculus, Sony Corp.’s PlayStation VR and headsets from HTC Corp., the people said. They asked not to be identified discussing private plans.



Apple’s typical playbook involves taking emerging consumer technology, such as music players, smartphones, tablets and smartwatches, and making it reliable and easy to use for everyone. This time, though, Apple isn’t looking to create an iPhone-like hit for its first headset. Instead, the company is building a high-end, niche product that will prepare outside developers and consumers for its eventual, more mainstream AR glasses.



The plans suggest that Apple’s first headset will be far more expensive than those from rivals, which cost about $300 to $900. Some Apple insiders believe the company may sell only one headset per day per retail store. Apple has roughly 500 stores, so in that scenario, annual sales would be just over 180,000 units — excluding other sales channels. That would put it on par with other pricey Apple products, such as the $5,999 Mac Pro desktop computer. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

More at the link.

Apple’s First Headset to Be Niche Precursor to Eventual AR Glasses

 

[humminbird]

I'm not too excited for this
They're going to have to open it up for it to truly be useful
and they won't do it because they already have the ar store planned

 

[levitate]

Would get this over Facebook/Oculus.

Been wanting to try out VR but simply can’t support Facebook in any way.

 

[-DMP-]

Im probably gonna get my lil bro the occuls quest for his bday but im waiting to get one (a VR headset in general) for myself.

This may be it. Very interested in what the come with.

 

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Engadget is now a part of Verizon Media

. Rumors have swirled about potential VR or AR hardware from Apple for years now. But today, The Information has published perhaps the most extensive account of what the company is working on, and it paints an ambitious picture. According to a source with “direct knowledge” of the device, Apple’s mixed-reality headset will contain more than a dozen cameras for tracking movement and showing real-world video to the person wearing it. It is also said to include two 8K displays, giving it an effective resolution that would far outstrip anything currently on the market.

. The Information believes that the device is in the later stages of development and could ship as soon as 2022. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Apple’s first headset isn’t targeted at a wide audience — its price point is rumored to come in around $3,000. Given the hardware specs quoted in today’s report, that’s not unreasonable, but it’s clear that this is less a device for consumers and more a competitor to Microsoft’s $3,500 Hololens 2. That headset is focused on business customers more than something the average consumer would use.