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Gurman: Apple's headset will likely cost $2k and have two CPUs
- vmception 5y agoWhy would I want this by the way? I don't mind cheaper headsets as impulse purchases to just wait for better games and experiences to come out. But at this price I need to feel like I'm missing something and don't feel that way, am I missing something?
- codezero 5y agoIt's hard to say without the product actually being released, but I use a lot of Apple devices, and my main way of consuming media right now is my Apple TV. I'm in the market for upgrading my TV and I'd sooner pay Apple $2k for a headset than Samsung for a large form TV running Android, subsidized by adware. I'd enjoy seeing such a device also replace my Xbox and PC for gaming.
- vmception 5y agoI see, for now doesnt appeal to me and it doesnt have to, will just watch without fomo then
- covercash 5y agoRobert Scoble has been saying it’s more of a home theater & computer monitor replacement. So instead of a 4k HDR 80” screen and accompanying surround sound, you get one of these. Instead of a Pro Display XDR, this headset will provide you with a virtual display that is just as good if not better. He also has been saying there is some insane tech partnership with the NFL to bring an immersive viewing experience to the headset.
- vmception 5y agoIt could only be a replacement for people that only used home entertainment systems alone For a family it requires 4x of these at $8,000 Or just the additional form of entertainment alongside existing home entertainment
- judge2020 5y agoThese rumor mills are tiring, especially when talking about pricing. If it ever comes out, we'll have concrete pricing and feature information.
- anshumankmr 5y agoWhatever they do, they must not call it iSight. It’s a painfully bad pun.
- ksec 5y agoI think they just call it "AR", Apple Reality. Your life inside Apple.
- anshumankmr 5y ago>Your life inside Apple That sounds dystopian. I would rather it just be called Apple VR since it is nowhere near being truly "real".
- zepto 5y agoThey already used the name iSight for a webcam.
- Synaesthesia 5y agoYeah but they've reused names before.
- kemayo 5y agoObviously this will be eyePods.
- dzhiurgis 5y agoOr is it eyePads? Lately they've been using Air prefix, so maybe LightSpecs?
- spiderice 5y agoWhen is the last time they've introduced a new product with the "i" prefix? I thought that was pretty much dead. Regardless, there is 0% chance they call it iSight.
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- BudaDude 5y agoAs much as I want a premium vr headset , 2k will be a bit steep. With the Occulus starting at $300 , Apple really needs to go under 1k if they plan to compete .
- fnord77 5y agoBack when Magic Leap was at the top of the hype cycle, a friend of mine did some napkin calculations to see what kind of computing power their headset would need to do what they were claiming they could do. The result was way out of the league of any known mobile processor at the time. I think closer to dual desktop GPUs of that era at least. So this article is saying two M1 Pro CPUs. Ok, let's say that's sufficient. The batteries required to power two M1s are going to be pretty big. Not sure anyone is going to want all that weight (and heat!) on their head. Maybe 5 years from now processing speeds and power consumption will be sufficient.
- grumpyprole 5y agoIs Google going to have another stab at VR? I tried my 'cardboard' recently and none of the Google apps have been updated and some don't work any more (e.g expeditions). I don't understand why they put so much effort in originally and then just give up.
- bryanrasmussen 5y ago>I don't understand why they put so much effort in originally and then just give up. It is the Google way. If it doesn't take off for the moon in a short time and become self sustaining they let it die. Google basically has the parenting instincts of a fish with millions of eggs.
- nikanj 5y agoGoogle has abandoned a project? I’m Jack’s complete lack of surprise
- heavymark 5y agoWhile there maybe a 2K version, I would be very surprised if that were the starting point. Rather like their other products they will offer higher-end versions. There is a lot of tech going into these that will make the base price a bit high since most people we consider this an accessory like a watch that's for fun, rather than something required like a phone or computer. I'm sure Apple will be able to condition people to a higher price point but for it to take off, will need to be low enough that enough people will buy it at the start. 2K no matter what it does would seem too high for an entry price when competitors are $300 even if this is drastically better. Think they'd need a sub 1K version.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- spiderice 5y ago> when competitors are $300 Something tells me Apple doesn't consider Oculus quest much of a competitor. The Quest is 99.99% used for gaming. Essentially nothing else. I doubt gaming will even be much of a focus for the Apple headset.
- vineyardmike 5y agoIt’s totally a competitor. The quest is now being marketed for work. The new Horizon Workrooms has great reviews for people holding virtual meetings. Besides, what other stahndslone headset is being shipped in any real volume but the quest? Meta has hinted at future AR updates to the quest so that should compete even more with apples goals.
- CharlesW 5y ago> Besides, what other stahndslone headset is being shipped in any real volume but the quest? I'm sure Apple is looking at Meta's stuff in the same way that they looked at Blackberry's stuff while designing the iPhone, but the Quest isn't going to be Apple's "north star" for the project. Apple will have their own, unique first principles for this product category.
- Nokinside 5y agoAssuming the Apple headset has similar features and quality as Varjo XR-3 ($5,995.00) + better ergonomics, I will definitely consider buying it for that price. https://varjo.com/ https://varjo.com/
- bwb 5y agoditto, super interested in what can be done with this one :)
- ryanmarsh 5y agoThinking apple would ship a first version that maxes out in hw specs shows a lack of historical understanding of apples past behavior. Given their history we can expect: nice form factor, minimal features, easy to use, minimal specs, priced higher than what the specs would suggest
- Nokinside 5y agoI don't think low specs work with VR/AR market. IMHO technology is still not good enough and still developing.
- BossingAround 5y agoPSVR works really well considering the very low spec (when compared to competitors). I think there's a lot more wiggle room than you'd think, depending on the application.
- bushbaba 5y agothe oculus quest 2 runs android and costs ~$500. Apples native code and ability to code for a a single platform would enable them to get the same experience at reduced specs. I’d wager the current iPhones chip is more than capable to exceed an oculus quest type experience.
- ryanmarsh 5y agoThe iPhone SOC has been capable of running a Quest like product for a few years now.
- andrewstuart 5y agoVR makes my physically ill. Even thinking about it now makes me feel unwell.
- berberous 5y agoWhat have you tried? Try a high end headset, like the Valve Index, make sure your setup never glitches, and never move in a way that your body is not (eg walk and look around your move, do not run or strafe with a joystick). The above should generally minimize any nausea for those with poor VR legs (like me). I also think this will get markedly better over the next 2-3 gens as headsets improve.
- BossingAround 5y agoI think OP's referring to nausea. VR triggers migraines for me. Playing games on PSVR that is. I think there's some hope for you (potentially) that better tech will make you less nauseous. For me, it's highly unlikely that new tech will bring any improvements as I'd think it's the bright light shining right into my retina (when I'd love nothing more than a e-ink monitor without any backlight for my daily work). Nevertheless, I'm keen to try. I'm super keen on something like glasses, with some AR displayed on top of the glass rather than the light shining into my eyes.
- poulsbohemian 5y agoWhat never makes sense to me in the rumor mill is that given Apple's historical track records, do we really expect them to release a headset that is so bulky and similar to every other attempt at a headset? Apple's whole schtick is the way they take what other people have tried and then refine it into some completely unexpected form factor. If they ever do a "headset" I'd expect it to be something wire thin or even some kind of micro add-on to glasses that they sell as a fashion statement.
- CarVac 5y agoThe Airpods Max is significantly heavier than the competition while being the same form factor...
- poulsbohemian 5y agoSure - but that's a fairly niche product whereas the common belief is that whatever AR / VR type product might be coming in the future will be in line with the iPhone in terms of being an every day, every person type experience. You'll note too that the other members of the AirPods line up are a smaller form factor and move a lot more units.
- fnord123 5y ago>Apple Reality Surely any AR from Apple should be the Reality Distortion Filter. :)
- Shadonototra 5y agoit should look like glasses if it looks like a giant face mask like the VIVE or the other one from facebook, then it'll flop, meaning it will stay as a niche market VR/AR should be an evolution of glasses, not a downgrade, not something else Something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R95olc9iQE4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R95olc9iQE4 I'd buy this instantly, and i don't even wear glasses
- msk-lywenn 5y agoThe UI directly on the glass would be a big mistake, it would obviously be impossible to read. There's one funny thing to do with a hololens headset: you take in front of you and look into the holographic displays, then slightly move your head. It really looks like there is something far from the display levitating in space. A true hologram is quite amazing. Even though hololens ones are 2D, think a floating photograph, they can change the distance the "photograph" is from the display and there's one per eye so it still feels close to the 3D effect you'd expect.
- msk-lywenn 5y agoI don't know who designed the mockup at the top of the page, but it must be some alien form with a nose right in between the eyes!
- gjsman-1000 5y agoI'm hoping it will be called iGlass. ;)
- BossingAround 5y ago> I give you the iEye gasps
- spzb 5y agoiSee what you did there
- Bombthecat 5y agoIview? Isee?
- sockaddr 5y agoMaybe they'll recycle the iSight brand?
- GeekyBear 5y agoIt's handy to remember that the rumor mill says that Apple has two AR hardware projects going. A high end/developer focused set of goggles as well as consumer focused AR glasses. >Apple's AR/VR headset will be followed by an augmented reality product, which rumors have been calling the Apple Glasses. The Apple Glasses will be more of an everyday wearable product than the headset, as they will resemble traditional glasses. https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-glasses/ https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-glasses/
- endisneigh 5y agoIs there any reason why even right now you can't put all the tech in a pair of glasses and have all the processing in a power bank sized device you put in your pocket, connected via USB-C or other cord?
- ohazi 5y agoMagic Leap's ML1 headset [0] works like this, but you still end up with a decent amount of heat-generating stuff on your face. The "power pack" is the power bank sized thing with the battery and a smartphone caliber motherboard (ARM application processor and a mobile GPU). There are around half a dozen cameras on the headset, and the GPU is too taxed generating content visuals to do real-time localization and eye tracking. Even if you had enough bandwidth to get all the frames down the cable, it would still be a difficult problem to solve on the GPU while still meeting latency requirements. So instead, there's a dedicated "vision processor" on the headset that processes all of the camera inputs and sends the localization results to the GPU. This vision processor chip gets quite hot. The projectors themselves can also get pretty hot, especially if you need to crank the brightness up. Difractive optics have a lot of losses, unfortunately... [0] I worked on parts of ML1 at Magic Leap, but no longer work there.