More details, including eye-watering price, for Apple's mixed reality headset revealed

It's been known for some time now that Apple has been developing a headset that supports both augmented reality and virtual reality experiences -- a combination also known as mixed reality (MR). With the device starting to mature and take the shape of a product that could reach the market in the next 12 to 24 months, firmer details have emerged about its capabilities and its pricing. Thanks to The Information’s Apple insiders, the site has sketched up an artist’s impression of what the headset looks like and has revealed for the first time that it could cost as much as US$3,000.

What could possibly justify such a high price? The headset is said to be fitted with dual 8K OLED displays, which would make it by far the highest resolution headset on the market. Sophisticated eye-tracking and rendering technology is also built in to adjust the resolution according to where the user is looking and reducing it at their peripheral vision -- this is to reduce the strain on the onboard Apple silicon (even it if is expected to be substantially more powerful than the M1 chip currently shipping in Apple’s entry-level Mac line up). 

The Apple MR headset, in its current state, uses over a dozen cameras that are tasked with tracking the user’s hands. These are supplemented by LIDAR sensors similar to the ones that Apple has deployed on its iPad Pro and iPhone Pro models -- as with these implementations, the sensors will deliver highly accurate 3D depth maps to support augmented reality functionality. The Information’s render suggests that Apple will wrap all of this technology into a headset that recalls various devices in its current line up including the Apple Watch-like headband and the HomePod-like fabric surrounding the front of the headset.

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