Apple's AR/VR Headset Nearing Completion as Board Gets Demo

I think everyone is missing the bigger picture here. Tim has a serious problem on his hands. Someone ON THE BOARD is leaking information. That’s huge to a company’s privacy and arguably their success.

Unless of course it was deliberate, to gain free marketing from macrumors and other sites. Which is also entirely plausible.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
By eye fatigue, I meant using this imaginary virtualized Mac for up to full work days. Can it be good enough that lots of text on a virtual screen "in there" doesn't wear out our eyes? Games with blobs & monsters is a lot different than seeing a tiny e is not an o or an I is not an l, etc, in THOUSANDS of words in lengthy work days, etc. I just don't know about that... as I don't know about the whole imagined concept of maybe all other Apple-type stuff could be available "in there" to help easily wash $3K or whatever it will be.
Click to expand...
The best VR headsets I've used are 1440×1600 resolution per eye. The best commonly used headsets are around 2k*2k per eye.
The 1440 panels and optics are not good enough to emulate a traditional display within the VR environment and use it all day long.
I don't personally experience eye fatigue in VR, but that doesn't mean I think it's good enough for reading a lot of text.

The Apple headset is rumored to be up to 4k*4k per eye, which would be almost 3 times as detailed in each direction. Even that won't be "retina" resolution, but hopefully it will be good enough to give you more useable space than a MacBook display.

HobeSoundDarryl said:
Can that be fast enough over wifi/5G? If we can stream 4K over wifi/5G without hiccups then maybe the answer is YES. A variation of this already exists where big games run on a computer and the visuals basically stream to a TV nearby. The gamers play on the TV but the heavy lifting is perhaps a room to rooms away... or not even within the home.
Click to expand...
You could have the headset render the 3D environment locally, and stream the contents of the virtual screens. Streaming the whole environment will have latency issues that will be apparent in VR.
 
LeadingHeat said:
I think everyone is missing the bigger picture here. Tim has a serious problem on his hands. Someone ON THE BOARD is leaking information. That’s huge to a company’s privacy and arguably their success.

Unless of course it was deliberate, to gain free marketing from macrumors and other sites. Which is also entirely plausible.
Click to expand...
Some companies have done that. "Leak" information on the product or movie and create hype. However, right now, I do believe there is a leaker within the board.
 
Of course it won’t have (I bet) floating windows, as the iPad doesn’t have macOS. The best device for that is a Mac. It won’t try to replace existing products.

I think it will be a much more exciting device, purely focused on VR/AR from the beginning. And remember that, for example, Apple is the biggest gaming company in the world. I also enjoy AAA games, but I think trying to translate what you play on a screen to a headset is wrong. Any casual game can be pretty exciting on this headset. And of course, also AAA games can come in the future (it’s not set in stone that Apple cannot get into some kind of games, it’s just not worth it on other platforms).
 
AlexESP said:
Of course it won’t have (I bet) floating windows, as the iPad doesn’t have macOS. The best device for that is a Mac. It won’t try to replace existing products.

I think it will be a much more exciting device, purely focused on VR/AR from the beginning. And remember that, for example, Apple is the biggest gaming company in the world. I also enjoy AAA games, but I think trying to translate what you play on a screen to a headset is wrong. Any casual game can be pretty exciting on this headset. And of course, also AAA games can come in the future (it’s not set in stone that Apple cannot get into some kind of games, it’s just not worth it on other platforms).
Click to expand...
The main reason I think there will be some floating window feature is because I don't think the combination of a very expensive device and a a lack of apps (especially professional), will be very successful. I think it will have to have some value for the media and/or apps that people already own.
Games can be ported from existing platforms, so it shouldn't take to long to get a decent VR gaming library, but a high priced device mostly just focused on gaming would have trouble competing with Meta.
 
FSMBP said:
Pricing is definitely off. It's like people forgot that Apple is expensive but Apple isn't that greedy/out of touch with reality.

In January 2010, people were saying iPad was going to be $1,000+ (it debuted at a shocking $500).

If Apple is bringing this to market, I doubt this will be more than $700.
Click to expand...
$3K? I better be able to use it with any platform and not just be locked in to the latest Apple devices and Apple OS'.
 
jav6454 said:
$3k for a pair of AR/VR glasses? That wasn't a typo?
Click to expand...
Did you bother reading the rumored specs? Dual 4K microLED, 15 cameras, chip in the M category?
Show me an equivalent headset. Spoiler: it doesn't exist.

The closest thing to Apple's upcoming headset is the Holo Lens 2 at $3500, but specs=wise and probably feature-wise, it doesn't come close to what Apple should offer.
 
KaliYoni said:
If the render is close to reality–and why wouldn't it be?–it's clear there isn't any way to make VR goggles look anything but dorky. Oculus has an excuse since Mark Z. has the worst aesthetic sense known to humankind (every FB hardware product looks like the most awful mashup possible of Dell, Volvo, and Birkenstock) but even Apple's design chops can't do anything for these things.

Second thought: will Apple sell a $89 :apple:Motion Sickness Bag as an add-on?
Click to expand...
Wow you really think Mark Z is wasting his time designing all the products himself? Lol
 
SoldOnApple said:
$3,000, that's more than I paid for my car.
Click to expand...
jav6454 said:
$3k for a pair of AR/VR glasses? That wasn't a typo?
Click to expand...
The problem I think some members on here are not contemplating, is $3000 sounds like a lot for a product that doesn’t interest you. But for those who want to see the potential how this could benefit them professionally and/or through entertainment, that’s probably not a lot of money given the potential behind this product, considering we don’t know all of its capabilities.

I think it’s key to remember, price is only relative to what you’re interested in, so even if this product was $2000, you probably still wouldn’t buy it, because it’s not something that would benefit your lifestyle or ‘Why you would need/want this.’

I kind of look at this like somebody might say ‘Why do I need a $3000 Mac Pro when I can accomplish similar tasks on a $500 Chromebook’. Not every product is geared towards every consumer, and Apple already knows this isn’t something they expect mass adoption, especially if this price point is accurate. It’s for a specific demographic.

Plus, being that this is ‘new tech’ from Apple, it’s to be expected it will come with a hefty price tag.
 
FSMBP said:
Pricing is definitely off. It's like people forgot that Apple is expensive but Apple isn't that greedy/out of touch with reality.

In January 2010, people were saying iPad was going to be $1,000+ (it debuted at a shocking $500).

If Apple is bringing this to market, I doubt this will be more than $700.
Click to expand...
The only comparable device to this headset is the Hololens from Microsoft, which lacks power and amount of sensors and the integration to software. Hololens costs around 3000 USD.

If you clearly look at the specs, there is no way the first gen of these devices would cost nowhere near what you're predicting. It has 2x 4k micro displays, eye trackers, next gen M-chip and batteries and speakers etc. This packs serious power. (And is an ultra enthusiast machine which will be mainstream in 4-5 years.

Think about this as the introduction of the iPhone. Most (smart)phones were around 300 USD, where iPhone was 600 USD in 2007 with no contract. (I'm not comparing this to the advanced technical specs but rather an era of new devices)

I doubt that Apple MR device would cost less than 2000 USD. Most likely between 2k-3k and a top of the range version around 4-5k.

700 USD prices like you said would make sense with the lower cost manufacturing of extremely dense semi transparent displays, sensors etc around 2027-28 timeframe. (Also need to be keeping the power draw down with new nodes and increased processing power)
 
Seems to me that a lot of people would be very surprised by just how far VR has come already and would be amazed when they actually try it. I was sceptical as well until I actually tried it (and that was on a "cheap" Quest 2 and not just for gaming) It is far from a niche or a "gimmick". The Occulus (Meta) Quest 2 sold more than the Xbox in 2021. Almost 9 million units sold. And that is just the Quest 2. I am sure the Sony PSVR2 will sell well too.

3000$ seems very steep, however, when you look at current high-end models, they are 2000$ and more and they are not stand-alone. You have to connect them to a computer. Then having a stand-alone headset with 4K displays per eye and, probably, an M1 in it, starts to look very interesting. If you are in the market for a high-end model that is.
 
SSDGUY said:
Curious how that gray fabric (which looks the same as some of the Apple headphones) looks after a week or so of contact with natural skin oils and dirt from normal use.
Click to expand...
I hear the fabric on the Apple headphones is doing a pretty good job at that ... and they are replaceable.
 
iamgalt said:
While I agree with you that the $3k price tag is too high of an estimate; I think you're way low with your $700. I think the hardware costs alone will be around the $1000 cost for Apple. You throw in the apple tax and I'm guessing final price will be around $1600-$1800. Remember, this is the company that sells a $20 piece of cloth.

The stand to store the set will probably be around $700. :D
Click to expand...
You can't charge 3k or anywhere similar for mass market consumer device (assuming that this is the purpose of the device), especially when the competition (Oculus for example) sell its VR headset for 300 bugs.

My bet is 799$ (or less) and some expensive accesories if you want.
 
FSMBP said:
Pricing is definitely off. It's like people forgot that Apple is expensive but Apple isn't that greedy/out of touch with reality.

In January 2010, people were saying iPad was going to be $1,000+ (it debuted at a shocking $500).

If Apple is bringing this to market, I doubt this will be more than $700.
Click to expand...

What planet do you live on? Sorry - that's uncalled for. But seriously - $700? That doesn't buy an iPhone these days, and this device is more than just another iPhone.

How much does a hinge cost to tilt a display? $400 should do it. What about some wheels to move a computer around? $700.

My question though is - how does anyone know that Apple's Board of Directors has demo'd this device? How on Earth can anyone make such a statement, when no board member was cited?
 
Last edited:
mnsportsgeek said:
Still have no idea what this device could do for me.
Click to expand...
It's the whole AR/VR "for everything"/not just gaming bet many companies are making.

Technologically it's innovative and fun and impressive, but at the end of the day it's yet-again a solution looking for a problem to solve.
 
PC_tech said:
You have absolutely no idea what it’s going to support or if it’s even really going to be released.
Click to expand...
Their main competitor in the mixed reality space is about to release (and has been demoing) the Project Cambria headset which does just this. They also have lighter weight versions of all these productivity features in production on Quest 2 (but not in a form factor you could comfortably wear for half a day).
The ability to use a keyboard and virtual/holographic desktop exists on most VR headsets; why would Apple double or triple the computing power of their own but take these away when they are starting out with next to no app ecosystem?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Back
Top