Everything you need to know about Apple’s first VR/AR headset.
It will be out by the end of the year. Among other things, it will be able to become an external monitor for Mac and replicate the functions of the iPhone in 3D.
As is known, Apple is working on a mixed-reality headset, which will probably be called Reality Pro and will have a price of around $3,000. It will be released by the end of 2023 and we will probably see it for the first time during this year’s Apple WWDC.
Apple’s VR/AR viewer is a very high risk bet
This device probably represents Apple’s most ambitious project since the Apple Watch. The Cupertino giant will in fact have to open the doors to a completely new market, launching a still unexplored category of products. At least from Apple, even if a longer chapter could be opened on the results obtained by other competitors already engaged in the virtual and augmented reality sector.
Meta has burned billions of dollars in its efforts and currently sells what are arguably the most popular VR headsets around. Nonetheless, we are still talking about niche products that have failed to make inroads into the hearts of the general public and are actually struggling to persuade even the majority of consumers that they should be more sensitive to this type of product, such as gamers and geeks. Nonetheless, many predict that the virtual reality market will be worth more than $100 billion by the end of 2030.
Apple cannot therefore limit itself to doing a ‘homework’. The risk is to burn billions of dollars to replicate the modest results of others. In other words, this is a high-stakes game for Apple, as it expands into a new product category for the first time since its smartwatch launch in 2015. To be successful, it needs to surprise consumers by turning its headset into a object of worship.
The homework is not enough, Apple’s Reality Pro will have to amaze everyone
The development group he is following already has over 1,000 people. Apple’s first mixed reality headset is the result of seven years of work and several hundred million dollars in research and development.
Apple’s goal is to introduce something extremely innovative . The eye and hand tracking capabilities will be a major selling point for the device, according to sources familiar with the product. Its main features will include advanced video conferencing based on FaceTime, as well as the ability to create virtual meeting rooms. The headset will be able to show immersive video content, act as an external display for Macs and replicate many features of iPhones and iPads.
Apple’s viewer will be able to become an external screen for Mac and replicate many of the functions of the iPhone
It will work like this: the headset will have several external cameras that can track the user’s hands, as well as sensors inside the headset to track the user’s gaze. This will allow the user to control the device by looking at an item on the screen, such as an app icon, to select it. Users will then have to bring their thumb and forefinger together to instruct the viewer to select the icon they are viewing. In other words, you won’t need to use other peripherals, such as a controller. By itself, this is actually a step up from the Meta Quest headsets. But will it be enough?
Apple will produce 700 thousand in the first year. A dress rehearsal, in view of a bigger revolution?
We know that the first viewer will be a dress rehearsal: it will cost a lot and Apple will mainly target developers and companies. For this reason, the company expects to remain well under the million units produced during the first year of the headset’s life. Really marginal numbers for an empire that sells over 100 million smartphones every year.
