Apple's Headset Said to Feature 14 Cameras Enabling Lifelike Avatars, Jony Ive Has Remained Involved With Design

Another scary thought is if this going to cost >$1000 - it's not a really good start to get people into the market for it. It is just not accessible for many.

Quest 2 has success in market share even though they are losing profits per sale. They are aiming to gain communities and market share to attract more developers. Building blocks.

You can see how the Steam Valve Index market share is smaller compared to Quest 2.

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Relentless Power said:
‘Life like avatars’……


⬆️ One application in the professional sector I could easily see Apple’s AR/VR device being used for tactical scenarios for law-enforcement room/building clearing.

I really think this product has loads of potential, but I just need to see some ‘hands-on’ demos of what this is capable of, being I’m interested in it, but I’m not quite sold yet.
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I think, and esp. if the price is anywhere north of $1000 (esp. if it's the 2000$ rumored) this apple tech will take some time to stew in the brains of devs and users to see what it can come of it.

Too bad our cruddy tech press like The Verge will want to anoint it bad after a month without taking that into consideration.
 
Oh well, I guess we'll have to wait for version 2, the non-Johnny Ive edition. This first VR pair will probably look amazing but have some horrible ergonomic quirk that leaves us cross-eyed like the Optigrab glasses from The Jerk.
 

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Not for three thousand dollars. People won't buy this in droves when it costs that much especially now. The iPod was a massive hit because it blew all other designs out of the water and it wasn't stupid expensive. The iPhone blew existing mobile devices out of the water (I'm looking at you, Blackberry) but it might not have been a huge success if the cost to purchase wasn't effectively subsidized by the wireless companies. I doubt people would pay 100% of the cost of a fully-loaded iPhone 13.

It's going to need a few really killer apps and some way of masking the cost.
 
An 'open' VR headset from Apple that integrates with Mac and Windows for gaming could be the VR revolution we need.
However, Apple seems to not focus on gaming at all, and I expect them to lock their VR headset to the iOS App Store (for the 30% cut of-course). This could mean a dead-on-arrival platform, and further kill any hopes for Mac as a video game platform.


Edit: grammar typos
 
Plastic product and very thin. Hopefully a durable design and does not breakdown like the plastic unibody did and the infamous lightning cables.
 
TouchedByAl said:
I’ve not been won over by the practicality of vr/ar headsets. It’s a cool tech demo to do limited applications of but I have concern about putting more tech on my body not to mention privacy concerns. I know Apple’s privacy stance but still. I’m cautiously interested to see what comes of this.
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I think I trust Apple with privacy but for AR, Google and Meta users will be shoving that in front of our faces in public spaces whether we agree or not. :)
 
MacRumors said:


Earlier this week, The Information's Wayne Ma outlined struggles that Apple has faced during the development of its long-rumored AR/VR headset. Now, in a follow-up report, he has shared several additional details about the wearable device.

apple-ar-headset-concept-1.jpeg

Apple headset render created by Ian Zelbo based on The Information reporting​


For starters, one of the headset's marquee features is said to be lifelike avatars with accurate facial expressions captured by 14 cameras:The report adds that Apple's former design chief Jony Ive has remained involved with the headset project as an external consultant to the company:The initial version of Apple's headset is said to lack a focus on gaming:As previously reported, Apple was considering having its headset be tethered to an external base station for some computing tasks, but the headset is now expected to be a fully standalone device. The report claims that the base station was going to use the same chip that was later announced as the M1 Ultra for the Mac Studio.

The headset itself is expected to be powered by two chips, with a streaming codec to reduce latency. The main chip in the headset will be equivalent to the M2 chip that is expected to debut in new MacBook Air and iPad models later this year, the report claims.

The full-length report can be read at The Information with a subscription.

Apple's headset is currently expected to be released in 2023. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported that Apple's board of directors received a demo of the headset last week, suggesting that the device is nearing completion.

Article Link: Apple's Headset Said to Feature 14 Cameras Enabling Lifelike Avatars, Jony Ive Has Remained Involved With Design
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This thing sounds like it is gonna be very expensive
 
If it’s not for gaming, I guess this is really about the virtual world and a more 3D/4D experience for Internet. Apple seems to want to use this as a way push beyond Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers and towards an immersive computing experience.

It’s likely gonna be niche like all their successful products have been in the past. The ultimate aim is to bring it as close as possible to test glasses maybe in 10 to 15 years where you won’t have a problem wearing it most of the time.

So, I think this a long run strategy to the point the technology gets very good wear it can become untethered.

Remember too, the generation this even likely targeting are likely toddlers and school kids who will be teenagers and adults 10 to 15 years from now.

For them, the iPhone will seem arcane.
 
Prediction: killer feature will be "looking" at and talking to an avatar of another person, with as much ease as FaceTime. Ivey has always used a design methodology where pain points are solved, and features are added based on what people actually do intuitively. Apple will try to get you to put on a headset to be closer to your friends and loved ones more than ever.
 
AR could be helpful in certain travel situations (pointing out landmarks, walking directions, camera translation of foreign languages, etc.), but I've been able to do most of that with my watch and my phone without looking like I strayed from a laser tag or paintball competition.
 
Maybe there's a non gaming use case that isn't a totally cheesy gimmick, but for mass market, games are the killer feature. Sure, engineers and surgeons might use it, but unit sales are in the hundreds not millions.

Besides with Jony involved, it'll have sub par performance and 30 minute battery life, require 37 dongles, and only have viewing in shades of aluminum and grey. Though, for once, his obsession with thin and light might actually be important.
 
MacRumors said:
The headset itself is expected to be powered by two chips, with a streaming codec to reduce latency. The main chip in the headset will be equivalent to the M2 chip that is expected to debut in new MacBook Air and iPad models later this year, the report claims.
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Streaming is still one of VR's biggest Achilles heel. It sucks having to download large VR video files to view it in excellent quality. Hopefully the quote above fixes that.
 
zubikov said:
Prediction: killer feature will be "looking" at and talking to an avatar of another person, with as much ease as FaceTime. Ivey has always used a design methodology where pain points are solved, and features are added based on what people actually do intuitively. Apple will try to get you to put on a headset to be closer to your friends and loved ones more than ever.
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im afraid you're right. And that's deep in gimmick territory.
 
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