Apple’s long-rumoured augmented reality (AR) headset looks like it will finally become actual reality by the end of next year, and experts are predicting it will send the iPhone off to technology limbo alongside the Betamax by 2032.
A report says the initial 2022 headset will hold two processors, one with the same computing power as a Mac. It will be similar to the M1 currently powering iPad Pros and Macs.
The headset is expected to be able to support virtual reality as well as AR, with twin 4K Micro OLED displays via Sony.
Of course, the scramble to rule with AR devices is hot, with Google, Microsoft and Facebook/Meta all in the race, but it’s believed that if Apple can position an AR headset – eventually in the form of regular glasses – that work independently and “have its own ecosystem and provide the most complete and flexible user experience”, then they will have a successor to the iPhone.
“Currently, there are more than one billion active iPhone users,” says analyst and insider Ming-chi Kuo. “If Apple’s goal is to replace the iPhone with AR in 10 years, it means Apple will sell at least one billion AR devices in 10 years.”
The belief with the Apple headset would develop into a pair of glasses that – like an iPhone – could overlay map directions, show you information about what you’re seeing and let you play AR and VR games.
The Apple headset set of 2022 will compete with the Facebook Occulus Quest 2 and HTC Vive.
