More and more, it looks like Apple’s next big thing won’t be something that fits in your pocket or bag. Rather, it could be another wearable device. Analysts Ming Chi-Kuo said in November that “Apple’s goal is to replace ‘iPhone’ with AR in 10 years.” Here’s everything we know so far about Apple’s mixed reality headset rumors.

2022 Apple Headset: Latest Rumors

May 19, 2022: Bloomberg reports that Apple showed board members a working headset and “accelerated development” of realOS. the possibility of disclosure to the general public “within the next few months”.

February 22, 2022: Digitimes reports that Apple has completed key production tests for your augmented reality headset.

February 9, 2022: iOS developer Rens Verhoeven noticed link to realOS in the App Store download magazines that likely signal that an Apple augmented reality/virtual reality headset is in the works.

January 11, 2022: Ming-Chi Kuo reveals (via Macrumors) that the Apple AR headset will use the same 96W USB-C power adapter like a MacBook Pro, assuming it has a bigger battery.

January 5, 2022: A new report by Ming-Chi Kuo (via MacRumors) describes the Apple lens setup as having pancake design make it lighter and more compact.

January 4, 2022: Display supply chain consultants say Apple’s headset will have an “innovative display configuration with three display modules“.

December 15, 2021: Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants says volume estimates for headset displays “look low” which may indicate a high price.

December 9, 2021: Another report by Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac) describes gesture based navigation.

December 8, 2021: Ming-Chi Kuo reports (via 9to5Mac) that second generation headset already at work.

Apple Headset 2022: Design

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the ultimate goal of Apple’s augmented reality project is to produce a pair of trendy smart glasses, the first version will reportedly be much larger and weigh between 300 and 400 grams. Apple’s first generation headset will reportedly be an Oculus-style headset with a knitted mesh shell similar to the AirPods Max. It might look like a sleeker version of Google’s Daydream headset, which also has a soft fabric body. The “head-up display” patent application also details several areas of adjustment, meaning comfort will be the focus.

However, we don’t know much about the design of Apple’s AR device. While Jon Prosser has revealed that Apple is working on a prototype pair of AR glasses, more recent rumors suggest that it’s probably still a few years before production of a real pair of glasses. In January, Ming-Chi Kuo revealed that Apple would be using “pancake” lenses to reduce weight and bulk.

Curiously, Kuo says that Apple is already working on a second-generation model (via 9to5Mac) that is expected to launch in 2024 with a “significantly lighter” and “updated industrial” design.

Apple Headset 2022: Display

Rumor has it that as a mixed reality device, the Apple glasses can handle both virtual and augmented reality through a pair of high-resolution 8K screens using eye-tracking technology. According to The Information, the headset will have more than a dozen cameras that will project the real world onto the screens as if you were looking through transparent glass. Presumably, it will use either OLED or mini-LED, as well as Apple Ceramic Shield coating.

In January, Display Supply Chain Consultants revealed that the headset will have “three display modules” consisting of two Micro OLED displays and one AMOLED panel. According to the report, a tertiary OLED panel will be used for “low-resolution peripheral vision, allowing for a foveal display system” depending on where the user’s focus is.

2022 Apple Headset: Processor and Specs

According to Kuo (via Macrumors), Apple’s AR headset will have two processors, with the more powerful processor having “similar processing power to the Mac M1” and an additional chip responsible for “sensor-related computing.” Sounds like a lot of processing power for a headset, but if a headset needs to power a pair of 8K displays, it’s going to need a hefty chip. Reports also say that it will need to be tethered to the iPhone, just like the original Apple Watch.

Kuo also revealed that the headset will support Wi-Fi 6E, which is also rumored to be coming to the iPhone 14. It will also supposedly have at least 8GB of RAM and a 256GB hard drive. We don’t know anything about battery life yet, but Kuo says battery life improvements will be the focus of the second generation model. Kuo says the headset will ship with the same 96W power adapter as the MacBook Pro, which suggests a larger battery.

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Apple Headset 2022: Apps and Features

We don’t yet know what the Apple headset’s UI will look like, but it appears to be similar to an AR display that recognizes people and objects and also handles VR apps. The new immersive walking routes in iOS 15 are a good indication of how this will work, with names and directions dynamically overlaid onto streets. In addition to maps, we expect fitness, music, messaging, and calling apps to take center stage.

As a mixed reality device, it will also be able to run virtual reality applications, opening up the headset to a variety of applications. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also said that games can have a “heavy focus” on the platform as well as “media consumption”. He expects Apple to work closely with developers and media partners to create content that can be viewed in virtual reality on the device. Apple will likely also use VR content with its own TV+ service.

Apple will also likely have apps dedicated to AR-type things like the Measure app and things like a tool that lets you see 3D renderings of Apple products before you buy them. In the December report, Gurman also said that Animojis and VR FaceTime for iPhone can be positioned as “Zoom of a new era.”

A December report by Ming-Chi Kuo described navigating the device using hand gestures. In a tech note obtained by 9to5Mac, he predicts that “the structured light of an AR/MR headset can detect not only a change in the position of the user’s hand and object or other people in front of the user’s eyes, but also a dynamic change in image details.” hand (just like Face ID/structured light/Animoji on the iPhone can detect the dynamic change in the user’s facial expression).” It’s likely that Siri will also play a prominent role in how users interact with the headset.

Apple Headset 2022: price and release

Apple has reportedly been working on its VR headset for several years, but both Gurman and Kuo agree that Apple is targeting late 2022 as a release date. In February, Digitimes reported that Apple had completed the second phase of EVT testing for its AR headset and was preparing for a fall 2022 release.

In terms of pricing, the first iteration is rumored to be an extremely expensive device, possibly worth several thousand dollars. In December, a report by Display Supply Chain Consultants noted that sales volume estimates for AR headset displays “look low next year,” likely indicating a high price (and low sales). With a price tag that’s out of reach for most people, the AR headset will mostly be a trial concept device for diehards and developers, but no less exciting for the future of Apple’s wearables.