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VR Technology

Report: Apple's Rumored Headset Will Run Both AR, VR Technology

April 27, 2018

A new report from CNET is adding more information about Apple’s rumored augmented reality headset. Along with AR, the site says that the device could also feature VR technology.

The report says that the device could hit the market in 2020:

The company is working on a headset capable of running both AR and VR technology, according to a person familiar with Apple’s plans. Plans so far call for an 8K display for each eye — higher resolution than today’s best TVs — that would be untethered from a computer or smartphone, the person said.

Interestingly, while previous rumors indicated that the headset would be somehow tied to an iPhone, CNET says Apple has different plans using wireless technology:

Apple’s headset would connect to a dedicated box using a high-speed, short-range wireless technology, according to a person familiar with the company’s plans. The box, which would be powered by a custom Apple processor more powerful than anything currently available, would act as the brain for the AR/VR headset. In its current state, the box resembles a PC tower, but it won’t be an actual Mac computer.

And unlike with the HTC Vive, users wouldn’t have to install special cameras in a room to detect their location. Everything would be built into Apple’s headset and box, the person said.

Apple’s Tim Cook has long been a proponent of AR technology, this is the first mention we’ve heard that the headset could also offer VR. While augmented reality places other objects into a normal field of view, like the hit game Pokemon Go, virtual reality provides a completely computer-generated landscape.