Apple’s rumored VR headset continues to have its alleged details leaked, this time with information about its potential price, feature set, and more making it out.
The Information has reportedly seen early designs and spoken with at least one Apple employee directly tied to the project, stating that the headset is in the late stages of development and could launch as early as 2022. The headset is said to feature 12 cameras for tracking and capturing video from outside of the headset, which will be crucial in delivering its AR functionality, too.
It will additionally feature eye-tracking which can help reduce rendering loads on parts of the screen where you aren’t focusing, as well as LiDAR sensors to accurately measure distances between objects in AR. The design is said to be like traditional consumer VR headset, albeit with two 8K displays for each eye, interchangeable head straps, and spacial audio like that featured in the AirPods Max.
All these features come at a cost, however, with The Information stating that the headset is aiming for a retail price of $3000. That is almost three times more than Valve’s Index headset, one of the most premium VR experiences on the market today. That suggests that Apple might not be aiming for the wider consumer market with this product, instead targeting enterprise customers like Microsoft has with its $3500 HoloLens 2.
It’s also entirely possible that Apple never releases its VR headset, considering the company’s history of developing radical new products before cancelling them. This headset has been rumored since 2018, with some of its features (the 8K displays, for example) already being suggested then.
