Details Emerge About Apple Headset's Tethered Battery Pack (arstechnica.com) 44
An anonymous reader shares a report: Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman is at it again, sharing insider details about Apple's upcoming mixed-reality headset. This time, Gurman shared new details in his weekly newsletter about the headset's controversial tethered battery pack design. Previous reports from Gurman, supply chain analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, and The Information revealed that after much internal debate, Apple decided to move forward with a headset design that works with an external battery pack connected by a wire.
This is because including the battery inside the headset would make it too bulky and heavy for some users. Apple employees against this approach argued that it made the headset clunky to use, especially in public. Now, for the first time, we have some details on exactly what this will look like. Gurman writes that the headset will have two ports: USB-C and a new proprietary power port. The USB-C port will be used just for data, whereas the proprietary port will be used for "a charging cable that goes into the headset and has a round tip that inserts magnetically."
This is because including the battery inside the headset would make it too bulky and heavy for some users. Apple employees against this approach argued that it made the headset clunky to use, especially in public. Now, for the first time, we have some details on exactly what this will look like. Gurman writes that the headset will have two ports: USB-C and a new proprietary power port. The USB-C port will be used just for data, whereas the proprietary port will be used for "a charging cable that goes into the headset and has a round tip that inserts magnetically."
and will the EU force them to add power to usb-c? (Score:3, Interesting)
and will the EU force them to add power to the usb-c port?
Re:and will the EU force them to add power to usb- (Score:5, Informative)
The USB-C port will be how you charge the battery pack. The battery pack will then attach to the headset with another cable. The article states such, the Slashdot summary just left that part out.
"The pack will also have to be charged, of course, and it will use a USB-C connection to connect to a MacBook Pro-like wall charging brick."
wait (Score:3)
So you've got a USB-C port on the headset, and another port, when what you really want is a USB-C port on the headset, and two (or more) USB-C ports on the battery, so that if you want to plug in a peripheral you can do that while wearing the headset without having two wires going to it.
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I suspect that Apple expects most of the data to be sent to and from the headset wirelessly, with the USB cable as a backup. They want the power cable to attach magnetically because it means it can detach easily and safely. That could be important for applications like VR gaming, where people might have a tendency to move around wildly and knock the headset off violently.
This seems like classic Apple thinking: they care far more about optimum clean-sheet designs than about following standards. This can
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So you've got a USB-C port on the headset, and another port, when what you really want is a USB-C port on the headset, and two (or more) USB-C ports on the battery, so that if you want to plug in a peripheral you can do that while wearing the headset without having two wires going to it.
I'm not too worried about the clunkiness of this gen's design. This just gets it out the door so that developers (and Apple) know what to do. Future generations will of course get improved design as the technology and knowledge improve.
Re:wait (Score:4, Funny)
I'm not too worried about the clunkiness of this gen's design.
Steve Jobs' corpse just attained 1,000,000 RPM.
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Re: wait (Score:1)
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That's exactly how it will be. The article linked lays it out, the Slashdot summery is just clipped bad. The USB-C connection will just be to charge the battery pack. The battery pack will then have a single special cable that connects it to the headset for power and some data. Why does a battery pack need to send data? They plan to have data sent wirelessly.
"The pack will also have to be charged, of course, and it will use a USB-C connection to connect to a MacBook Pro-like wall charging brick."
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USB-C PD uses data to negotiate charge direction and voltages.
Yaz
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In this case, it doesn't really need that because it's a single device they're charging. And it'll likely have some sort of minimal data transfer.
Re:silly (Score:4, Informative)
Without negotiation, the standard requires that the device providing power only send 5VDC. This is done so that USB 1.x and 2.x devices which were not designed for this sort of negotiation can still work via a dongle.
We don’t know the specs of the power pack just yet — it may be that Apple will allow you to use it as a power bank for other devices as well, in which case the USB-PD negotiation will be required. Or they may decide to simply not provide power to devices requiring something other than some fixed voltage.
Regardless, if the power pack itself is charged through that same USB-C port, you’ll need to negotiate with whatever USB-C PD device you’re charging from to get powerjust like every other USB-C PD enabled device and charger on the market.
Yaz
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FTA:
Gurman writes that the headset will have two ports: USB-C and a new proprietary power port. The USB-C port will be used just for data, whereas the proprietary port will be used for "a charging cable that goes into the headset and has a round tip that inserts magnetically."
Sounds like the headset will have two ports and the battery has its own USB-C charging port.
The second generation will introduce a necklace-like lanyard to catch the headset should it fall off your head. Third generation will improve the lanyard to a noose and all the douches wearing it will eventually Darwin themselves.
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Does the USB C standard support a magnetic connection? If it doesn't then you add it, it's not USB C anymore, it's a proprietary cable.
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> Does the USB C standard support a magnetic connection? If it doesn't then you add it, it's not USB C anymore, it's a proprietary cable.
Nobody cares.
It's a USB-C cable with a magnet.
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They make magnetic, break-away USB-C connectors. You can find dozens on Amazon.
I need a USB-C cable to plug in my Android (Score:2)
...because I'm sure the Apple iHeadset will feature the same great Android compatibility as the Apple iWatch.
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I'm sure you can find an Android compatible watch out there if you look carefully enough.
Re:Coming next Qtr to a Discount Bin Near You! (Score:4, Informative)
Actually, there's not enough data to say.
Apple has had only a handful of times when they arguably entered a new product category.
Personal computers, they did... ok, though they were limping along at various points when that was their only offering. They weren't setting the world on fire.
Apple's attempt to make a game console flopped, Apple's first run at a handheld computer flopped. Apple's first strategy for the cell phone market flopped (product partnered with Motorola).
On the other hand, the iPod was a massive success, and they successfully parlayed that to the iPhone to be a massive success.
iPad is not quite as hot as iPhone, but respectable, though arguably it's mostly just a big iPhone.
Apple TV isn't an utter failure, but it's not exactly setting the world on fire either.
Apple hasn't even attempted a categorically new device in 13 years that I can recall. They really haven't tried anything like that under Tim Cook at all. Throughout their entire history they have a few examples of overwhelming success, a few examples of fair to somewhat good success, and a few examples of complete and utter failures. Just like most device companies that occasionally try things.
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Sure, but it wasn't exactly the original portable MP3 player. There were a whole range of MP3 players for years before the first iPod came out. The thing that really made the iPod work, even more than its very good ergonomics, was the iTunes music store. Up to that point, there wasn't a good way of buying music files. You could buy a CD and rip it yourself, or you could download from a site like Napster. There wasn't a legitimate place to buy music as do
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Apple Watch, 2015.
100 million units. It is only the scale of iPhone sales that makes that look small.
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If Apple makes something, they know it will succeed, so the chance of it flopping effectively zero.
The iPod Hi-Fi has entered the chat.
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Don't forget about me, said the Apple HomePod.
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An Apple Product (Score:2)
So Apple is making a "mixed-reality headset" ?
I'm having having mixed feelings about that.
Wires are "clunky to use"? (Score:4, Insightful)
... employees against this approach argued that it made the headset clunky to use ...
That's the quote which baffles me the most, in all of this. Realistically, the wires on this device won't be any more "clunky" than the original iPod was when it first came out, nor the iPhone when used with wired headphones -- and both of those product lines were (and are, respectively) incredible success stories. Personally, I still vastly prefer wired headphones, and I don't think I'm the only one. This weird notion that some people seem to cling to, that wires must all go away at all cost is just unrealistic; until the day that we have free power flowing wirelessly through the atmosphere to juice up all of our various tech, wires are still actually more practical for a large number of uses. And having used the front-heavy Quest 2 headset, I wouldn't hesitate to argue that this could easily be one of them.
Make no mistake; unless Apple somehow manages to push through some incredibly broad patents, this will inevitably be added to the long list of features that other companies end up quickly copying from Apple.
(Now... that rumored $3,000 price tag, on the other hand... )
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I'll agree with this, as a current VR headset user. Most vendors put *all* the weight on the device and it's maddening. Having a pocketable compute/battery component and leaving the absolute minimum in the headset itself would be more comfortable.
See the rave reviews of the BigScreen Beyond VR, where they essentially do just that, just the bare minimum that must be on the face, cabled to something else. The first clearly comfortable design to wear.
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I'm sure it will be perfectly comfortable for 8-hour-shifts of editing dino DNA. [tenor.com]
(Now... that rumored $3,000 price tag, on the other hand... )
"We spared no expense!"
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For those times you're using it tethered to a device over USB, you'd think they would want to take advantage of that existing cable to power the headset, so the battery isn't needed at that time.
Why do that if they can sell you another battery pack or a proprietary cable?
Just like their wireless mouse that has the charging port on the bottom, so that you cannot use it while it is charging.
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I imagine that they want to avoid sending mixed messages. On the one hand telling everyone that wires are so bad, you'd rather lose the occasional earpod, on the other hand bringing out a new device that has a new wire.
WiFi in Pack? (Score:2)
Put the WiFi in the "battery" pack to reduce unintentional TCMS.
Putting the Human in Human Interface Guidelines (Score:2)
Why not just implant charging pads in the user's temples and run the battery cable subdermal.
Could carry battery in pocket or better, in abdomen. Could have a battery charging port routed through belly button.
Even cooler would be a way to charge the batter from some kind of gluclose trasnformation chemistry.
Re: Putting the Human in Human Interface Guideline (Score:2)
If the battery is detached, why not the CPU? (Score:2)
Honestly, as soon as you make the decision to have even a single wire go to a bulky attached piece, you may as well put all the processing into the attached piece as well. Make the headset a headset ONLY, minimizing the cost if it needs to be replaced, and put all the other pieces into a small, easy to wear attachment. Heck, this same setup could be used to power a laptop or tablet as well. Maybe... this item could be a phone, with a larger battery or clip-on battery extender. Certainly makes sense to m
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Honestly, as soon as you make the decision to have even a single wire go to a bulky attached piece
My interpretation of this is that this design is *optional*. Much like the Quest users I see lugging around USB-C battery packs for *extra* power rather than primary power. Consider especially the fact that the battery pack connects via a magnetic cable. That's a huge single point of failure for a device if external battery was its only power source.
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Battery serial number (Score:1)
Shall we guess that the battery is tied to the headset and once the battery dies, we will have to bring the headset to an Apple Store to have the replacement battery linked to the headset?