Just when smartphone-driven VR and AR headsets were getting scarce, Apple might be bringing back the trend. Given the likes of Google Daydream and Samsung Gear VR failed because of how they required a smartphone to be strapped to the user’s head all the time.
Apple, however, might take a slightly different approach. As per sources close to the development, Apple will take a mixed approach that will still require an iPhone to do the magic.
Comfort is the topmost priority
VR and AR headsets are collectively known as MR or mixed reality headsets and are usually been tethered to powerful computers to perform heavy processing tasks. That made the headset heavy and uncomfortable to wear, but the industry has shifted to standalone headsets such as the Oculus Quest line. But that also put some load on users’ heads, something Apple is trying to curb.
According to The Information’s report, Apple will use a setup that will split responsibilities between the host device and the headset. Apple is said to have finished the designs for SoCs for the headset as well as imaging sensors and display drivers.
While a majority of the basic, as well as graphics processing, will take place on the headset, it is believed to be less powerful than the processors seen in current iPhones and iPads.
Letting smartphone handle processing
The system will come sans the Neural Engine machine learning processor that Apple incorporates on its AR techs. The basic idea here is to offload the work to an iPhone while the headset performs tasks that wouldn’t be easy to perform wirelessly. This suggests that while the AR headset could work nominally without a tethered device, it will still require to wirelessly communicate with an iPhone to be functional.
Other AR platforms already have a similar arrangement, though they connect to a smartphone using a cable. Apple’s version, however, will focus more on comfort while giving the headset some muscle of its own. Apple’s MR headset might come out next year as a developer-centric kit with a trendy pair of AR glasses to launch in 2023.
