Samsung throws shade at Apple by joking about new green colour in the 5G iPhone 13

Apple could launch its augmented reality headset next year, a Hong Kong-based leaker claims. 

The headset will be released in the fourth quarter of 2022 and contain two processors, one ‘with the same computing power level as the Mac’, said Ming-Chi Kuo in a research note as viewed by MacRumors. 

This processor will be ‘similar’ to M1, Apple’s own in-house-designed computer chip, currently used in its Macintosh computers and iPad Pro tablets 

A promo image released by the tech giant in March 2021 shows a memoji character with glasses and a reflection of the laptop in the lenses – possibly a reference to AR glasses

The second, lower-end processor, meanwhile, will manage the ‘sensor-related aspects’ of the headset. Computing power of this sensor will be ‘significantly higher’ than that of the iPhone, however. 

Kuo also said the headset will be able to support virtual reality (VR) as well as AR, thanks to a pair of 4K Micro OLED displays from Sony.

AR layers computer-generated images on top of an existing reality – Pokémon Go being a famous example – while VR is wholly virtual. 

Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities in Hong Kong, is known for garnering information on Apple’s plans from his contacts within the company’s Asian supply chain.

However, Kuo predicted in June that the will launch in spring 2022, so it seems the timeframe has been pushed back – and could be pushed back again. 

In October 2021, Kuo said Apple’s upcoming headset will also be wireless and use Wi-Fi 6E, the newest version of Wi-Fi, allowing it faster speeds and a higher number of connections.

It’s possible the Apple headset will still likely have to connect to an iPhone or Mac computer, but that a future iteration of the device may not.   

According to another recent report from Digitimes, citing supply chain sources, the product will cost as much $2,000 (£1,500). 

The upcoming headset would likely not be aimed at consumers, but instead be geared towards developers and business customers, this report alleged.

A more consumer focused AR product, known as Apple Glass, would be released until 2023 at the earliest and would look more like a conventional pair of spectacles, it added. 

A 2019 report from  The Information collaborates the suggestion that Apple is working on two AR/VR products.  

Apple Glass would present a digital display on the lenses to complement surrounding environments, such as arrows to help consumers find their destination in cities.   

Making Apple Glasses look more like normal glasses instead of a more chunky headset could make them more appealing to the consumer market.     

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