Industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo states that Apple's 2022-bound AR headset could support standalone operation

Rumours about Apple's putative AR headset have been going around since 2019. However, the project seems to have hit several snags along the way, as there is still no sign of it anywhere. The last time we heard, Apple was expected to unveil the AR headset at WWDC 2022. Now, renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has doubled down on the claim and stated that we might not have to wait very long to see the hardware in action.

Kuo (via MacRumors, 9to5mac) says that Apple will use two fairly powerful processors in its AR headset. One of them will reportedly perform on par with the Apple M1 and do most of the heavy lifting. The second, less powerful piece of silicon will reportedly process all the data obtained from its sensors. Whether or not it requires tethering to an iPhone/iPad remains to be seen, but Kuo speculates that it could be a standalone device, similar to the Oculus Quest 2. If that is the case, we can expect it to ship with controllers.

Apple's AR headset will reportedly feature two 4K OLED screens made by Sony. If the chip powering the headset is indeed an M1 equivalent, it should have no trouble outputting content at 4K 60 FPS through each lens. However, it could get tricky for some graphically demanding applications. Apple could even have a whole Facebook-Esque Metaverse experience planned for its loyal fanbase. Nonetheless, it'll be a while before we know for sure, and one can only hope that the product materializes this time around.

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