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Apple Technology

Apple Will Talk Up Its Mixed-Reality Headset in 2023 But Not Much Else (bloomberg.com) 36

Posted by msmash from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.
Apple, after seven years of development, is nearly ready to launch its first mixed-reality headset. But the focus on this new product will lead to an otherwise muted 2023. Bloomberg: I first wrote in 2017 about Apple's ambition to launch a high-performance AR-based headset -- complete with its own operating system, App Store and dedicated chips. Back then, Apple had aimed to get it to market by 2019. Over time, the delays stacked up. Apple had plans to launch the device in 2020, then 2021 and then 2022. The final postponement, at least for the moment, happened last year. Up until fairly recently, Apple had aimed to introduce the headset in January 2023 and ship it later this year. Now the company is aiming to unveil it this spring ahead of the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June, I'm told.

Apple has already shared the device with a small number of high-profile software developers for testing, letting them get started on third-party apps. The device's operating system, dubbed "Borealis" inside the company, will be publicly named xrOS. With the current plan, Apple could introduce the device to consumers -- likely under the name Reality Pro -- and then get developers up to speed on its software features in June. On this timeline, the company would then ship the product later in the fall of 2023.
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Apple Will Talk Up Its Mixed-Reality Headset in 2023 But Not Much Else More

Apple Will Talk Up Its Mixed-Reality Headset in 2023 But Not Much Else

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  • VRaporware is good (Score:3, Interesting)

    by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Monday January 09, 2023 @03:21PM (#63193222)

    4K per eye isn't enough. Go big or go home. If they can't make it 8K per eye, the visual fidelity isn't passable as reality. So if can't actual make a true headset that works, then either don't call these headsets "VR" or just give up on making it. Actual VR should make you feel like you're in an alternate reality, not like you're watching some blurry crap behind a screen door. With actual VR you should be able to experience the inside of Tut's tomb or the Sistine Chapel and feel the scale of it like you're actually there.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Maybe I'm wrong but Apple products are for the mass, I don't see the point of investing R&D to get some shares of the micro market of hololens. And I can't imagine an use case for an expensive AR device in everyday life.

        • Maybe I'm wrong but Apple products are for the mass,

          You are wrong but not in the way you think.

          These are as noted AR glasses, they are for the masses, not the niche market of VR.

          HoloLens market is only small because Microsoft doesn't know how to make it a mass market or have the developer support to have enough software to do so.

          Apple has LOTS of developer who have been building stuff with various AR frameworks for years now, so already have what they need to know to quickly produce interesting and useful A

          • Apple has already shared the device with a small number of high-profile software developers for testing...

            Which doesn't sound like exactly LOTS of software developers. Not that I'm arguing that Apple won't get this right, because they're probably the best at making stuff like this appeal to ordinary people.
            Or, at least they were good at it before Tim Cook took over. Now? Maybe.
            I'm still not convinced AR is going to be a thing ordinary people will want, but Apple might prove me wrong.

            Microsoft have no real clue about anything which is why Hololens is not a success. I tested a couple for the business and th

            • Which doesn't sound like exactly LOTS of software developers

              Tens of thousands, at least. The SDK has been around for quite some time. There are lots of little AR apps doing different things. Many devs have at least experimented with it.

              Apple might prove me wrong.

              Won't be Apple, it will be the people that build stuff using the hardware. Apple just has to build a decent headset with a good range of sensors.

              Microsoft have no real clue about anything which is why Hololens is not a success.

              No argument here.

              Tr

          • So they have what they need to "quickly produce interesting and useful AR software", they've been "building stuff for years", and yet there's no sign of it?

            I guess they could have some killer apps hidden up their sleeve, and they just need to delay the unveiling for a fourth or fifth or sixth year... but until then it sounds like them grasping at straws in an attempt for them to market the image that they are bringing you The Future.

            It's serving the same purpose that the Metaverse is serving for the Zucc, b

            • they've been "building stuff for years", and yet there's no sign of it?

              Look in the App Store man, there are tons of AR apps and there have been for a while.

              Just because it's not glued to your face doens't mean it's not using the same building blocks the AR headset will... like room scanning LIDAR and detection of surfaces around a room.

        • So far it's seen as a stepping stone for a far cheaper and smaller mass market AR device that's supposed to come out in a few years.

        • Re:VRaporware is good (Score:4, Insightful)

          by dgatwood ( 11270 ) on Monday January 09, 2023 @04:22PM (#63193488) Homepage Journal

          Maybe I'm wrong but Apple products are for the mass, I don't see the point of investing R&D to get some shares of the micro market of hololens. And I can't imagine an use case for an expensive AR device in everyday life.

          Face recognition. "You look familiar. Where do I know you from?" becomes "Hi, Angie. I haven't seen you since high school."

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by KlomDark ( 6370 )

            Then you get screamed at for "dead naming"

            • Then you get screamed at for "dead naming"

              Ok, you got me...what is "dead naming"?

              I don't get it...especially your using it in response to the OP that used the example of using the AR glasses to recognize and old classmate...?

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by DarkOx ( 621550 )

          Apple's thing has always been about tuning a niche market product to have mass-market appeal. Sometimes it takes an iteration or two - They could not convince the world we need tablets with Newton, but now everone has touch and pen compatible display on their smart phone or an actual tablet and Apple is a leader in the space.

          Same thing - Apple II and later Mac did convince a lot of public they wanted a micro-computer in their home. Apple delivered a solution that a lot of people who would not have become i

        • AR is a huge market. way more than any metaverse bullshit. All ads could be intractable. all menus plugged into this... car speed, time to destination, calendars and reminders. It's basically the first step to true assimilation towards singularity of consciousness... Not VR, VR is a bullshit distraction which will have a place but not as a utility.

          I think it's the series &brave new world& where they wear contacts which tell them each other's social status... that's the kind of shit being talked up.

    • This is augmented reality (AR) rather than virtual reality (VR). It'll be an overlay on what you already see around you. I don't think the resolution is as big a deal in AR.

      That said, I think this is a niche product. I'm sure it's in part because I'm old, but - I already feel "too connected" sometimes, and have been occasionally been making a point of mostly disconnecting on weekends.

      • It seems to me like there's a lot of unexplored commercial space in AR, and if Apple could make a compelling product which wasn't too expensive they might be able to sell it to SMBs. Big corporations have dipped into AR for high-end manufacturing support, but this could bring remote collaboration to a lot of job sites where it hasn't been economically practical before.

        I doubt Apple will price it low enough to appeal to the masses for what it does. Maybe they could learn from history and get it into educatio

    • If you're taÃking about feeling the scale of things. Even PSVR does that at 1k per eye. Even if they had 8k per eye, processing power wouldn't be there even if you strapped dual geforce 4090 to your back (the coolers could also make you fly). It's MR, and potential problems will probably come from other things first than from the purported 4k per eye resolution which is still 4 times more than the competition offers.
  • Apart from a few special applications, can anyone imagine a general purpose use case for this? It sounds like it might be cool initially, but once the novelty factors wears off, not sure how many really want a face attached monitor in daily use. I can't see it replacing the LCD monitor anytime soon.

    • I wouldn't want to wear it all day. But if it can provide a true VR experience with excellent visual fidelity, I could see myself using one for things like (in order of likelihood) watching immersive documentaries, gaming, training, and maybe even movies in a virtual theater. Eventually, movies themselves might be shot in VR. The key is it must be 75 ppd or higher in resolution. With foveated rendering, the GPU requirement for that would be less than HD rendering .. so it's totally doable if the display tec

    • Re:Gonna be like 3D Movies all over again (Score:5, Funny)

      by FunkSoulBrother ( 140893 ) on Monday January 09, 2023 @03:47PM (#63193336)

      If it can facial recognize people and put a MMO style bubble above their head that says "This is Andrea Johnson" I would never not wear it. I'm terrible with remembering names.

    • Apart from a few special applications, can anyone imagine a general purpose use case for this?

      Yes, millions, but a few:

      Home Repair (a vast field with thousands of uses all by itself)
      Visualizing task completion (how much have I vacuumed).
      Caring for plants
      Home security
      Cooking

      Potentially useful for some things away from home or an office as well, though maybe not as much initially.

      • Navigating a foreign city on foot
        Signs, menus, and prices instantly translated as you walk around a foreign city
        Relevant details next to paintings or sculptures in a museum
        Names for everyone you meet
        Lego/IKEA instructions
        Running down a checklist when packing
        Karaoke
        Price comparisons while in a physical store
        Nutritional info overlaid on menu options

        You mention home repair, and that's almost certainly a given. I actually led a team that developed applications to do field repairs on devices and equipment that c

    • "General purpose" seems really hard, but that's for a time when those glasses will be mass marketed, so probably when they're around the weight and size of a pair of sunglasses. I think it will be an amalgam of a lot of different small things then. Instant and invisible translation of text. Subtitles for spoke languages. It'll show you singles you could possibly date in a crowd at the club. Navigation for driving, walking or cycling. Show you if someone's busy, taking a call on their headphones. It could s
  • In a facility with suicide nets nearby, because 100% of the reality for the people making these mixed reality headsets is unbearable.

    • Wasn't that 15 years ago? Is that still the case? It seems they have many applicants, so I am pretty sure they'll be cool with letting depressed workers go rather than have them fuck shit up. Why would people apply to become slaves? Also, if it wasn't possible to leave .. how did so many workers quit during covid? Reference: https://www.tech360.tv/foxconn... [tech360.tv]

  • They don't know how to innovate any more. I sold my stock, it's gonna be a long ride down.

    • It certainly smells a bit like Zuck pushing the Metaverse. Sounds cool and like "The Future" to the less-knowledgeable, and they have to push it because there's nothing else coming down the pipe.

  • My very own reality distortion field. Amazing of Apple to bring this technology to the home user after all these years.
  • It will require a MacBook Pro, iPhone and an Apple Watch to work.

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