Apple mixed reality headset launch is coming sooner than we thought

(Prototype credit: Future)

The launch of the Apple mixed reality headset is coming soon, simply maybe only when it'due south safe for an in-person event.

That's right — we may see Apple's first official step into VR "sometime in the side by side several months." Nonetheless, information technology ideally won't happen earlier the earth returns to normal, as Apple wants a pre-COVID-style launch event rather than a livestreamed one.

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These details come from a newsletter written by Mark Gurman for Bloomberg. Gurman writes how, despite the success of online product launches and last year's virtual WWDC 2020, Apple wants to unveil its headset at a normal consequence.

Gurman explains that Apple wants to get the launch of its headset perfect, since it's a whole new product category for the visitor; the first new one since the Apple Watch launched in 2015. Therefore, that means existence able to more closely control how the headset is introduced and demonstrated, and that's all-time accomplished at an issue at Apple headquarters — then long every bit doing so won't pose a threat to attendees' wellness.

That may not stop Apple tree from revealing officially that it'south entering the VR headset marketplace before then, though. A pre-proclamation would let it more than openly work with developers to make certain there'due south a VR app ecosystem set up for users when the headset launches. Information technology's similar to how there's a three-calendar month gap between the reveal of the latest version of iOS at WWDC in June and the September rollout to iPhones.

From the rumors we've heard so far, information technology sounds like Apple tree's mixed reality headset will have some impressive features. Dual 8K displays, eye-tracking- and hand-tracking-cameras and LiDAR sensors are all expected to be included on the headset, plus possibly a minimalist controller that takes the grade of smart rings worn on the user's finger.

The toll is impressive in a less enjoyable mode; it's rumored to cost between $one,000 and $3,000, depending on which source y'all read. That loftier toll tag is apparently considering Apple tree is aiming the headset at a professional userbase rather than general consumers, and is expecting to sell a small number of units a year equally a result.

The Apple Spectacles, conversely, are expected to be a consumer-focused product — but on the downside, they're not likely to arrive for another few years.

The Apple headset'due south rumored specs likely means information technology volition speedily go one of our picks for the best VR headsets around, whether Apple unveils information technology in person or via digital ways. Withal that toll also means it'll be some time before Apple's VR offerings become as mainstream as the iPhone.

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Richard is a Tom's Guide staff writer based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, gaming, sound and whatever else people demand communication on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Annals and Artistic Bloq. When not at piece of work, he'southward likely thinking near how to mash the perfect cup of specialty coffee.