Image: Oculus
Apple is pushing out a new mixed reality VR headset this year due to a ‘huge pressure to ship’.
Apple is reportedly set to reveal a mixed reality VR headset this year, despite the fact that it might not be ready for release after a lengthy and troubled development cycle. The device has been rumoured to be in development at Apple for years now, as the company’s first headset to combine augmented reality and virtual reality capabilities.
According to a recent report from The Financial Times, the new headset has spent seven years in development at Apple and could rival the iPhone as a next-generation hardware product, if we’re going by the opinions of some inside the company. Unfortunately, a former Apple engineer speaking to the outlet points out that the headset might not be ready for launch yet, saying, “They have huge pressure to ship,” and, “have been postponing the launch each year for the past [few] years.”
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is reportedly looking to the device to cement his legacy at the company, as it would be the first new computing platform to have been developed entirely during his tenure. Apple’s operations team wanted to launch a ‘version one’ iteration of the headset resembling ski goggles that would allow users to, “watch immersive 3D video, perform interactive workouts or chat with realistic avatars through a revamped FaceTime.”
However, the company’s design team pushed back on this to argue for a more, “lightweight version of AR glasses,” which could take a few more years to be feasibly produced. Cook has reportedly sided with the operations team and overruled the design team to launch the product this year anyway, despite the latter team’s concerns. The headset is said to be a complex device that contains, “an array of cameras and high-resolution screens,” with an expected price point of around $3000.
That price could create a pretty high barrier to entry, but Apple is clearly looking to build upon this initial headset to make it more accessible and attractive to consumers via future iterations. The headset is rumoured to be revealed at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June this year. The conference typically focuses more on software announcements, so we could see a few games and apps get shown off for the headset too.
