An analyst known for his fairly accurate predictions about Apple technology predicted the release of a “helmet” with augmented and virtual reality capabilities next year, AR glasses in 2025 and mixed reality contact lenses after 2030.
Apple will launch a new “helmet-style” headset with augmented (AR) and virtual (VR) reality capabilities next year, AR glasses in 2025, and after 2030 AR contact lenses. This is reported by 9to5Mac, citing a note to investors by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo predicts that the headset, due in 2022, will weigh 100-200 grams (its prototypes weigh 200-300 grams) “if Apple can successfully solve significant technical problems.” According to the analyst, it will use Sony’s micro-OLED displays and will also have “independent processing power and memory.” According to Kuo, the device will be able to work independently of the iPhone and will be “positioned more like a portable product, and not as a mobile product.”
“We believe that Apple can integrate this headset with video-related applications (e.g. Apple TV +, Apple Arcade, etc.), which will be one of the key selling points,” the expert expects. According to him, the new headset is likely to be “similar to a high-end iPhone” in terms of its cost; that is, its price could be around $ 1000. Simultaneously, the publication indicates that Kuo is a supply chain analyst but may not fully own pricing details.
According to the analyst’s forecast, by 2025, Apple may release AR glasses, but the company has not yet started producing prototypes. A key feature of the glasses, Kuo points out in a note to investors, will be Apple’s “optical transparent AR experience”, which will be used to blend augmented reality elements onto the real world. The expert notes that AR glasses “can have the independent computing power and storage space.” Therefore, most likely, they will be positioned as a mobile product.
The glasses and the headset will be manufactured in parallel, which means Apple can sell them simultaneously, Kuo adds. He also expects Apple to release some form of augmented reality contact lenses after 2030, but the expert “has no visibility into a launch schedule.” The main focus of AR lenses here will be on what Kuo predicts, “invisible computing.” Contact lenses are unlikely to have independent storage and nutrition technology, the analyst notes.
The mixed reality headset, which Apple is working on, will feature dual 8K displays and more than 12 cameras for capturing surroundings and tracking hand movements. This was reported by February The Information citing a source close to the project. According to him, sensors for tracking eye movements will be installed inside the device. It will also be possible to control the VR headset using a device that the user can wear on his finger.
The glasses are also equipped with high-precision LiDAR scanners, which are now used in older iPhones and iPad Pros. The publication’s interlocutor noted that Apple could present a VR headset as early as 2022 and ship about 250,000 devices in the year of release. The price of the headset, according to him, will be about $ 3000. Earlier that Apple was planning to release virtual reality glasses next year, reported Bloomberg. The agency’s sources then noted that the device would cost significantly more than its counterparts, and Apple is unlikely to be able to sell more than one headset per day in each of its stores. Bloomberg also noted that Apple is simultaneously working on AR glasses for the mass market, which should appear a year after mixed reality headset output.