I've been thinking about Apple's AR/VR headset, and I just don't believe it - ZDNet

Designer wearing Meta's Quest Pro goggles.

Meta

Apple is getting acceptable to release an AR/VR head-mounted display sometime successful 2023. 

We cognize this information to beryllium self-evident due to the fact that the tech property has said so.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple prognosticator par-excellence, tells america that Apple has filed trademark applications for the names "Reality One," "Reality Pro" and "Reality Processor." According to an August 28, 2022 article, Gurman claims, "The institution is aiming to merchandise its archetypal mixed-reality headset astatine the precocious extremity of the marketplace successful 2023."

Back successful May, Ars Technica regaled america with stories astir however hard it has been for Apple to nutrient specified a headset, and adjacent went truthful acold arsenic to accidental that, contempt him being gone from the company, Jony Ive is inactive involved. Ars, too, believes that specified a instrumentality is coming successful 2023, stating "Apple initially planned to motorboat the headset successful 2019, but it present looks similar it could alternatively beryllium announced either aboriginal this twelvemonth oregon successful 2023."

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Ars has been pursuing this communicative closely, reporting conscionable this month that Apple's headset volition "scan your iris erstwhile you enactment it on" and again claiming, "Apple's headset has faced respective delays, but it is present slated to merchandise sometime successful 2023 astatine a higher price." That "higher" successful the connection refers to a terms successful excess of the $1,499.99 that Meta (aka Facebook) is charging for its Quest Pro headset.

If the tech rumor mills accidental it's true, it has to be, right? Right?

I don't deliberation so. I conscionable don't bargain the thought that Apple is going to merchandise immoderate clunky head-mounted show successful 2023, and effort to foist it connected its customers. According to Ars, the Quest Pro weighs 722 grams, oregon astir 1.5 pounds. I conscionable don't judge Apple is going to effort to bent thing that weighs much than a 12-inch iPad disconnected of your face.

It's conscionable not Apple's way.

Yes, Apple is investing successful AR

Apple has been investing successful AR. As acold backmost arsenic 2017, Apple released ARKit, a bundle room designed to assistance developers physique AR apps for the iPad. Apple has continued to enactment connected ARKit, releasing ARKit 2.0 successful 2018.

This makes full sense. The thought of AR and VR, benignant of a poor-man's holodeck, is intriguing. For companies with arsenic large a warfare thorax arsenic Apple, Meta, and Microsoft, it makes full consciousness for them to put successful immoderate improvement and adjacent axenic probe into making thing work.

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Further, with Apple's immense extended service of developers, wherefore not effect the assemblage with a fewer libraries and spot what they produce?

Beyond ARKit, it's not wide precisely wherever Apple is investing. But it would marque logical consciousness to presume it has a squad moving connected show technology, some for idiosyncratic wearable usage and for heads-up displays, similar successful cars.

But don't confuse investing and probe with shipping.

Apple is not Google

Google is celebrated for trying projects, and adjacent releasing them, lone to cancel them sometime aboriginal erstwhile they don't beryllium to beryllium arsenic viable arsenic immoderate interior metric requires. In fact, the website Killed By Google counts 278 specified launched-and-killed projects.

Google Glass was 1 specified product. We each knew it was destined for failure the infinitesimal it launched. It was ugly, intrusive, off-putting, and underpowered. It was besides quintessentially Google. While the wide nationalist did not respond good to Glassholes, determination was some payment to the exertion successful the endeavor space.

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But this is what Google does. Google throws products and technologies against the partition to spot what sticks. Apple conscionable simply does not enactment that way. Apple builds products it expects ample markets to adopt.

Apple tin surely bring the WTH

This is not to accidental that everything Apple does is inspired. Apple past is chock afloat of WTH moments.

Putting a charging larboard connected the bottommost of a mouse isn't precisely clueful. The circular Trash Can Mac Pro inspired overmuch derision. The "butterfly" keyboard successful Mac notebooks inspired overmuch hatred. The $400 optional wheels for the latest Mac Pro inspired sizeable annoyance. And the 1000 dollar show basal for the Pro Display XDR inspired Adrian Kingsley-Hughes to telephone it the "most Apple happening ever."

Apple creates category-defining products

But these aren't examples of merchandise categories. Apple's merchandise categories are stone solid. The iPod (in its day). The iPhone. The iPad. The Apple Watch. The Mac. AirPods. These are enormously successful, category-defining products.

You don't spot Apple adding a drone oregon an electrical scooter to its merchandise line. While it owns Beats and truthful has a clump of Beats branded audio devices, the branded items are the genre-dominating AirPods.

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Sure, arsenic mentioned, determination are immoderate misses. The Apple TV box and the HomePod aren't location runs. Roku beats the heck retired of the Apple TV container and Alexa makes HomePod look irrelevant. But the Apple TV and HomePod are inactive coagulated products that circular retired precise coagulated merchandise lines.

Thinking astir Apple's mixed-reality headset

I cognize the world's astir tuned-in Apple watchers each assertion that Apple is astir to travel retired with its ain mixed-reality headset. But it conscionable doesn't track.

The 2022 and 2023 exertion for specified a instrumentality is susceptible of producing highly realistic imagery successful the eye-focused displays. But tin you earnestly spot Tim Cook connected signifier walking astir with a elephantine integrative blob connected apical of his forehead? It's not svelte. It's not sleek. It's cumbersome, heavy, uncomfortable, and disorienting.

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Someday it volition beryllium different. Someday, tech companies volition beryllium capable to marque ace realistic mixed-reality enactment and present that mixed-reality successful a brace of glasses -- that would impact wearing a instrumentality that weighs 10 oregon 12 grams, not thing that weighs 64 times that, similar the clunky Quest Pro headset from Meta does.

When Apple tin marque a mixed-reality headset that feels and looks similar stylish glasses, you tin beryllium definite they'll bash so.

But what astir now?

But what astir each of these rumors? Surely, they can't each beryllium wrong?

My conjecture (and it's astir decidedly a guess) is that Apple is perfectly moving guardant with AR/VR research. Miniaturization technology, similar what the institution is capable to enactment into the Apple Watch and the AirPods Pro, is simply a bully archetypal step. Clearly, Apple is moving connected wearable technology. It's precise apt this volition -- someday -- see a mixed-reality brace of glasses.

But today? If Apple is moving connected a head-mounted, iPad-weight, face-covering brace of teched-out scuba goggles, it's a merchandise intended for developers, to assistance bundle creatives research wherever this exertion mightiness go. And yes, Apple mightiness merchantability its AR/VR hardware improvement kit, but my conjecture is that it volition beryllium constricted to registered developers only.

Also: Selling an emotion and a feeling: How these companies spot VR arsenic the aboriginal of business

Apple whitethorn besides beryllium moving connected incorporating AR/VR exertion into heads-up displays, particularly if the rumors of Apple engineers moving connected automotive exertion are true.

Finally, fixed the enactment Apple has done successful precocious AI successful its camera systems, I'm definite we'll spot further constricted AR and VR applications delivered done iPhone and iPad apps.

What bash you think? Am I wrong? Will Apple merchandise a mainstream helmet show successful 2023 for the wide market? Let maine cognize successful the comments below.

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