UPDATE 6/6/2023: The Apple Vision Pro headset has arrived, blending the looks of ski goggles with iPhone technology, immersing users in a world of spatial computing. Apple officially revealed its AR/VR headset at WWDC 2023 on June 5th, marking the start of what Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman called “the beginning of a post-iPhone era.

The original story follows below

It’s one of the most open secrets in the tech world that Apple is working on a virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) headset. Apple hasn’t confirmed this to be true but does consider AR “critically important.”

That could indicate that AR will be more important to Apple as a tool to improve user experience.

A recent interview with China Daily USA seems to support that, with CEO Tim Cook being “incredibly excited about AR” while wanting to keep humanity at the center of the new technology.

We’ve heard more rumors about the headset lately, indicating a looming release. Apple also reportedly showed off the hardware to the board of directors, which they wouldn’t do if it wasn’t almost ready for release.

Here’s what we know, what we think is coming, and what we want to see.

When will the Apple Vision Pro headset launch?

Apple hasn’t publicly acknowledged the existence of the VR/AR headset. Many supply chain indicators originally pointed to an early 2023 launch date.

But now, experts believe Apple’s mixed-reality headset won’t make an appearance until later in the year. That’s according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a solid track record when it comes to Apple.

A report from DigiTimes (via MacRumors) says that mass production will start in March 2023. That would mean the release event would be after that.

That’s for Apple’s first headset, which might be developer-focused. Then another headset is tipped to arrive in 2025, or possibly two, one cheaper and one more premium.

In a April 2023 newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is confident Apple will reveal its upcoming AR/VR headset at WWDC 2023.

“Apple Inc. has chosen June 5, 2023, as one of the most important days in its history,” writes Gurman in his newsletter. He describes the headset’s launch as “the beginning of a post-iPhone era.”

Isn’t this Apple Glass?

Apple Glass, the AR-only, looks-like-normal-glasses device, isn’t coming until 2025, at the earliest.

Supply-chain analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, says that contact lens-type AR glasses are also in the works, with a 2030-2040 release window.

The headset that’s believed to be coming early next year is a more traditional helmet-style mixed-reality headset.

What will the headset be called?

Bloomberg reported that Apple has new trademark filings for names that could be associated with virtual reality. Those include “Reality One,” “Reality Pro,” and “Reality Processor.”

Could that be the name(s) of the upcoming headset and the chip that will power it? We won’t have long to wait to find out.

What features do we know about?

Apple’s first headset won’t be restricted to VR or AR content – it will feature both.

That means a closed-off helmet-style headset, with external cameras for positional tracking, AR overlays, hand-tracking, and gesture control.

One report from TomsGuide via The Information says Apple’s headset will introduce a new biometrics security feature. The headset will reportedly feature iris scanning as an extra layer of security.

The displays are supposedly 4K (4000×4000) using micro-OLED. Some reports say there will be a third AMOLED display behind those two high-resolution screens, to make a foveated display.

That type of display works in the same manner as our eyes. Essentially, the spot we’re looking at it will appear high resolution, while the periphery is lower quality.

The upcoming headset could also feature an Apple Watch-like crown that allows users to quickly switch between the screen and the real world.

One report from The Information also believes that AirPods will be needed to communicate with others while wearing the headset. That seems a bit clunky to us, but time will tell if this is true.

What kind of processor will the headset have?

Early reports said that the headset wouldn’t do its own processing, instead it would need to be connected to an iPhone or Mac.

Since then, we’ve seen reports of it having multiple chips inside, one of which would be “similar computing power as the M1 for Mac.”

An even more recent report says that Apple will put the M2 chip into the headset. That will pair with 16GB of DRAM, which means you’ll be wearing a MacBook on your face.

The headset will reportedly come with a 96W MacBook charger to power all of that. That’s the same one bundled with the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip.

Hardware is cool, but content is king. Apple has reportedly been courting Hollywood directors to create adaptations in AR for their headset.

Expect series like Prehistoric Planet to appear on the device, and more.

How much will the headset cost?

Apple devices are typically sold at premium prices, to match their premium build. Early predictions say the AR/VR headset could cost over $2,000.

This quote was from Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, whose sources say that value was floated around in Apple’s internal discussions.

Apple typically charges a bit more than its competitors for products, locking in margins that have helped it become one of the most profitable consumer-electronics companies ever. The new headset won’t be an exception, but the main reason why the company has discussed price points above $2,000 is because of some of its internal technologies.

If so, this isn’t going to be the mass-market device that Meta’s Quest range is.

But as dates move closer to an actual announcement, that original $2,000 seems to be off by a thousand dollars.

In his latest “Power On” newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple plans to sell the device for $3,000. That’s the good news. The bad news? Well, we’ll let you decide for yourself:

“The device will start at around $3,000, lack a clear killer app, require an external battery that will need to be replaced every couple of hours and use a design that some testers have deemed uncomfortable,” Gurman writes. “It’s also likely to launch with limited media content.”

It only goes downhill from there: Apple’s recent AR/VR headset demo has insiders facing serious doubts

Instead, this will be a premium device, possibly aimed at developers and other users that will build the next apps for Apple’s future devices.

realityOS: What is it?

Back in February of this year, developers found multiple references to “realityOS” in Apple’s codebase.

Apple isn’t telling you to go touch grass with that name. Instead, it points toward a new device family, which uses a previously-unknown operating system.

The most likely home would be on the VR headset and subsequent devices. Apple has been working on realityOS since at least 2017, when mentions of “rOS” were found in iOS 13 code.

rOS was built on iOS code, but anything could have changed since then. Apple could have gone the desktop replacement route and built realityOS on macOS.

Full-body FaceTime avatars?

Love your FaceTime avatars but wonder what happens to them in a virtual environment?

Well, according to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, 1-on-1 FaceTime calls could feature full-body avatars if both people are using Apple’s mixed-reality headset.

Group calls will most likely use normal avatars to represent people, with reports saying the limitation is due to hardware restrictions of the new headset.

Will you want the Apple VR headset?

The $2,000 question: will you want it? Well, that depends on you, really.

If you’re a professional or developer that wants a stable AR/VR platform to create on, the answer is yes. You’ll want this headset to create programs for the next, cheaper Apple headset, slated for a 2024 release.

Home users might want to pass on this, however. The high price and relative lack of content mean this probably isn’t the headset for you.

Unless you’re a serial early adopter, in which case, you’re going to buy it when it’s available, just because.

What will be Apple’s competition?

The VR market is about to get very crowded. Multiple large brands are coming out with their own headsets, starting with Meta’s Quest Pro later this year.

Meta’s device is aimed at business users to transition their jobs from typing on a keyboard (boring!) to a metaverse virtual keyboard (ooh, snazzy!). It will cost upwards of $1,000.

Microsoft is also releasing a new HoloLens early in 2023. The enterprise-focused AR headset will cost thousands. Not one for consumers, but still exciting and likely to push the AR market forward.

Then it’s on to an entertainment-focused headset, the PS VR2. Sony’s second VR headset should sell millions of units. The only drawback? You need a PlayStation 5 to use it.

HTC is estimated to sell higher amounts of headsets in 2023. VR is one of the things HTC does well, and its recent headsets are all quality.

Then it’s Pico‘s turn. The largest brand for VR in China, they’re on track to ship at least a million headsets this year. Expect a new headset from them in 2023, as we’re due based on their historical release cadence.

What we’d like to see from Apple’s VR headset

We’ve used multiple AR and VR headsets over the years, and most suck. The bar Apple has to surpass is a low one, but that doesn’t make it easy. The company still has to address major pain points.

The biggest is comfort. Most VR headsets are weighty, have uncomfortable straps, and aren’t the easiest to adjust to your head. If Apple can nail comfort, the growing market is theirs.

Most headsets have terrible, or barely-capable, audio playback, but that could change this time. Apple won’t be happy with poor audio, as it focuses on providing solid audio quality on its other devices. Spatial audio in VR content will be awesome.

We’d also love battery life to be a big focus. Power efficiency is there, if it uses the M2 chip. With the average headset running out after two or three hours, Apple knows what it has to do.

That said, if it’s coming with a 96W charger, it might not have much of an internal battery, if any at all.

Interconnectivity between the rest of Apple’s product stack would be great.

Apple Fitness Plus would have a natural place on the headset, as would Maps, or other programs. Imagine using Garageband in AR, while you’re playing your instruments.

The future is virtual

Whatever form Apple’s first VR/AR headset takes, it’s clear the company thinks other forms of reality are the future.

Apple isn’t one to jump into a market, they like to study things first (assuming they’re not creating the category).

The first device might be another “iPhone moment,” changing the face of how we interact with technology. If anyone can get VR and AR mainstream, it’ll be Apple.

Have any thoughts on this? Carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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With Hand Tracking 2.1, the headsets can better identify and recreate more movements, like clapping hands or high-fives.

The news is mainly intended for developers who build Quest apps. But it also affects consumers as they will benefit from the changes made.

Per the company’s blog post:

What to know about Meta’s Presence Platform

This update connects the Quest platform to Meta’s Presence Platform, which was announced by the company in October 2021.

The Presence Platform is part of Quest’s software that helps bridge real and virtual worlds together. It tracks your hands with the forward-facing cameras and puts them into the software world you see in the headset.

Designed to replace the hardware controllers, it can even figure out what your hands are doing if the camera can’t see all of your hands, like when you clap them together.

READ MORE: Meta thinks its next VR headset will replace your laptop

The Presence Platform can identify thumbs-up gestures, folded hands, high-fives, and other complex gestures. Other gestures have also been improved, like pinching, grabbing, and poking.

READ MORE: Meta’s new parental controls make Quest VR headsets safer for kids

Meta doesn’t want to stop there. Eventually, it wants you to wear a wristband that will sense if you’re thinking about moving your arms, hands, or fingers.

That wristband will also provide tactile feedback, making your brain think you’re touching virtual objects.

An inflatable glove is also in the works, but the company is keeping quiet about a potential release. Other companies are trying different controller designs, like this “shake weight for the metaverse.”

Another company, one backed by Sony, is working on an armband that simulates a sense of touch and weight.

Until hardware-based systems are more user-friendly, camera-based ones will have to do.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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The PS VR2 will cost $549.99 in the U.S., €599.99 in the European Union, and £529.99 in the U.K. Pre-orders will go live on November 15, from either the PlayStation store or selected retail outlets.

The launch bundle will contain the PS VR2 headset, two PS VR2 Sense controllers, and stereo headphones.

READ MORE: Sony has opened up preorders for the PS VR2

Sony will also launch a PlayStation VR2 Sense charging stand for $49.99 in the U.S., €49.99 in Europe, and £39.99 in the U.K.

The PS VR2 will have one game bundle option at launch

One of the launch titles Sony previously shared was Horizon Call of the Mountain. And guess what, the game is included in the bundle.

A launch bundle with the PS VR2, Sense controllers, stereo headphones, and the game will cost $599.99 in the U.S., €649.99 in the European Union, and £569.99 in the U.K.

The game will feature a new protagonist, fighting a new “hidden danger to the world of Horizon.” At some point, the player will cross paths with Aloy, the previous game’s protagonist.

PS VR2 Product Specs

Preorders open later this month

Sony says pre-orders will go live on November 15. And remember only Sony’s online PlayStation store.

Pre-orders are open for players in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Other markets will have pre-orders at the same time from participating retailers. Orders will “ship throughout the week of launch.”

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Now, these are patent images so they show an idea, but the design could change. What we can tell is that Valve is planning a complicated system of cables to adjust the headset to your liking.

Two large dials on the back of the straps control the top and side straps’ length, and it looks easy to adjust.

We can also see two headphone/speaker sections that drop down from the side straps. Those are also adjustable in what seems like multiple dimensions.

What we don’t know from the patent is what hardware will go into the headset.

Some hints point towards it being standalone, as “The harness may couple to a rear housing disposed at the back of the HMD. The rear housing may accommodate various computing components of the HMD.” Sounds like a self-powered VR headset to us, like the Meta Quest 2 or Pico’s range.

Some other details about the Deckard VR headset have also emerged this week. Brad Lynch, an XR analyst who first found the Deckard name, says that Steam VR will be able to make a Wi-Fi hotspot for the headset to connect to your PC. This seems to happen without needing any additional hardware.

Lynch also found development tool pointers, and a whole bunch of other leaked strings. Check out his video for more. He does caution patience, as Valve is known for long development times or even not releasing things they work on.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Things like this are typical for a company to do when releasing emerging tech such as AR glasses. Microsoft did it with HoloLens and Magic Leap pretty much did the same thing with its Magic Leap One headset.

But no one working in Meta’s Reality Labs division knew this would happen. Meta only informed employees of this decision earlier this week, reports The Information.

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READ MORE: Meta’s upcoming VR headset will reportedly be called ‘Quest Pro’

Truthfully, this is the right call from Meta. The company is working on three different versions of standalone mixed reality glasses, which are due to launch over the next few years.

Unfortunately, the first version would likely cost consumers thousands of dollars, and for the most part, the device wouldn’t be ready for prime time.

Releasing a new product without having any software developed makes it hard for any company to market it to the masses, so releasing the first version of its AR glasses to developers could give it the kickstart it needs.

READ MORE: The Magic Leap 2 mixed-reality headset releases in September

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The usually dependable supply-chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had this to say on Twitter early this morning. He says that thanks to Shanghai lockdowns, the development process of the VR/AR headset was slowed.

He believes that early 2023 will be when Apple decides to unleash news about the headset. Expect a January 2023 Apple Event to announce the AR/VR headset. Development kits will come within weeks after that, and a pre-order period will occur in the second quarter of 2023.

READ MORE: Apple’s mixed-reality headset is likely coming in January 2023

That timeline culminates in the AR/VR headset “hitting shelves before WWDC 2023.” That’s an odd timeline for release, although it wouldn’t be the first time Apple has unveiled a major device in January.

Apple didn’t explicitly mention the AR/VR headset at all in WWDC 2022. Did they tease it right at the start?

If you go to the keynote at six seconds in, you see what looks suspiciously like a VR headset on someone’s forehead. Big goggles, what look like wires behind each ear – sure, seems like a headset to me. We’ll find out early next year (hopefully).

READ MORE: Apple is planning a huge number of new devices over the next year

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If this sounds like something you need, you can grab it now for just $10.26 with promo code 45PKGGGK. This battery back typically sells for $24. If you prefer a two-pack, get it now for just $23 with promo code 55GEJMFT.

The tiny USB-C battery pack adds another 1.5 hours of playtime to your VR headset, and comes with a right-angle USB-C adapter so it fits out of the way of the straps.

The pocketable USB-C battery pack also can charge your smartphone, just by plugging it. That’s great for emergencies, and what bigger emergency than your phone running out of battery?

For less than $14 for a single battery to add another 1.5 hours of playtime to your Meta Quest 2, it’s a no-brainer. Better yet, you can get two for under $23, and both options have an additional 10-percent coupon right now. Don’t forget to tick the checkbox before adding it to your cart.

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Kuo says that mass production of the mixed reality headset is still a ways off. Apple wouldn’t want to give the competition any ideas, so it is going to delay any launches or reveals for the time being.

That also extends to realityOS, the operating system that will run the headset. realityOS has been trademarked in multiple countries by a supposed Apple shell company, as an unreleased product.

That’s probably a wise take from Kuo, especially his second tweet which says that showing off the device too early will just enable competitors to clone the design.

That sentiment is also shared by prominent blogger and startup-whisperer, Robert Scoble, who thinks WWDC is going to be for setting up the software and development environment for the AR/VR headset to shine.

He thinks we’re going to have to wait until January 2023 to get a glimpse of the headset. Apple defined a generation by releasing the iPhone at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) all those years ago. Releasing their mixed reality headset at the same show would fit Apple’s history.

If Scoble is correct, expect spatial computing to have center stage at WWDC, even if the hardware it will eventually run won’t be in attendance. Apple might be relatively late to the AR/VR space, but it’s about to take it by storm.

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That’s according to a report from Bloomberg, and the usually-accurate Mark Gurman. Now, before you get all excited about a possible WWDC 2022 release, that’s probably too soon for an official announcement.

That doesn’t mean it won’t happen this year though. When Apple released its voice assistant, Siri, in 2011, the board got a preview earlier that year. That could mean the mixed-reality headset is on track for an Apple Event sometime this fall.

READ MORE: Valve’s upcoming VR headset possibly shown off in new patent

That would line up with reports from earlier this year, that said the mixed-reality headset would be delayed until the end of 2022.

READ MORE: Don’t expect to see Apple’s VR/AR headset at WWDC this year

Bloomberg also notes that the development of rOS, the operating system that will run the headset, has ramped up recently.

That could lead to some powerful software, as reports from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo say that the hardware could have similar processing power to the M1 chips used in current Macs.

We’re excited to see what form Apple’s mixed-reality headset takes when it’s finally released. Whenever the actual date is, barring major delays, we won’t have long to wait now.

The real question is, can Apple take market share away from Meta, and its line of Quest headsets? Apple does have a long track record of taking over the product categories it enters, from the iPhone, to the iPad, and more recently, the Apple Watch.

A late 2022, or early 2023 release would put it directly against Meta’s Project Cambria headset.

READ MORE: Apple’s mixed-reality headset is likely coming in January 2023

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The first of these devices is Project Cambria; a high-end VR and mixed-reality headset that Meta wants to replace your laptop with. It will have facial expression tracking, sensors to mimic eye contact in VR, and new optics to make the metaverse more believable.

Cambria will be running on Android hardware, although it’s not clear at this point if Meta will use Android or its own software on the device. Expect to see this later this year, possibly before September.

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The price of the pro-level VR headset is going to be high; with two sources telling The Information (via Android Central) that Cambria will cost $799. A Meta spokesperson said that the “price would be significantly higher,” which we take to mean that Meta will be selling the hardware at a loss.

Funston, the codename for the successor, is being readied for a 2024 release. Also scheduled for 2024 are two pairs of augmented reality glasses, Nazare and Hypernova. Finally, there’s a Quest-branded consumer-level VR headset planned, codenamed Cardiff.

READ MORE: Meta’s upcoming VR headset will reportedly be called ‘Quest Pro’

READ MORE: Meta’s first version of AR glasses will be aimed at developers

Before that, a consumer headset codenamed Stinson is coming in 2023. That’s going to be the Quest 3 when it hits shelves. A leak from earlier this year says it’ll have uOLED screens.

That’s a lot of VR headsets in a short time, but it’s necessary for Meta to carve out its vision of the metaverse before the competition.

Companies like Pico, now owned by Bytedance, are about to start challenging Meta in the consumer space, with the upcoming Pico Neo 3 Link.

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