Apple VR headset coming in Q1 2022 & will have LiDAR, analyst claims

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited February 2021
Investment analyst at JP Morgan says an Apple VR headset will be released in Q1 2022, and feature LiDAR plus six lenses.

The Magic Leap One Lightwear AR goggles, an example of an AR headset
The Magic Leap One Lightwear AR goggles, an example of an AR headset


Backing up recent claims that "Apple Glass" will be preceded by a more traditional AR/VR headset design, JP Morgan says Apple plans to ship its first headset in the beginning months of 2022. According to the investment bank's technology industry analyst Yang Weilun, the main improvement over rival headsets will be the use of LiDAR.

According to China Times (in translation), the forthcoming VR headset will feature six lenses, plus a LiDAR optical scanner. LiDAR will sense the distances between real-world objects, and reportedly enhance the experience.

Yang Weilun reportedly estimates that the cost to Apple of building the headset will be in excess of $500, and that the retail price will be more than current rival VR sets.

The JP Morgan analysis also concludes that currently "extremely difficult" specifications mean that a lightweight "Apple Glass" headset is unlikely to be released in the next 12 to 18 months.

Previously, a separate Bloomberg account claimed that the Apple VR headset would retail for more than $900. Coming in 2022, it is expected to precede "Apple Glass" by a year.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 2
    slprescottslprescott Posts: 765member
    What use cases are we expecting for these? Gaming? Some business/enterprise situation that can benefit from AR?
  • Reply 2 of 2
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,417member
    slprescott said:
    What use cases are we expecting for these? Gaming? Some business/enterprise situation that can benefit from AR?
    While gaming is a possibility for sure, there's definitely a need for first party VR support in macOS to support developing content for VR (and possibly stereo AR) and stereo video. Previously all the software out there (including Final Cut Pro even) relied on SteamVR to use the HTC Vive for developing this stuff, and that's been abandoned. But, Unreal Engine, Unity 3D, AfterEffects/Premiere and myriad plugins that deal with 360/stereo video, FCP/Motion, etc. It's possible Apple's developing this as a pro content development tool first and foremost as that's increasingly important in film/game/etc industries outside of the Apple ecosystem, with the eventual goal that more such content may be consumed on their devices in the future with a consumer-level VR headset or the AR glasses, etc. 
    watto_cobraslprescottfrantisek
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