When it comes to reality-based devices, Apple has typically leaned more towards augmented reality (AR) while the competition, like Valve and Facebook, has focused more on virtual reality (VR). However, it seems that Apple could have had a change of heart because a report from Bloomberg claims that the company could debut its own VR headset as early as next year.
The publication claims that Apple will actually be launching a “high-end” VR headset in 2022 ahead of their plans to launch their own AR glasses. The report also suggests that the company does not expect its VR headset to be a hit, but rather it is a device that they want to cater more towards developers and more affluent customers who might be interested in being early adopters.
Apparently the goal of this VR headset is to help the company pave the way for a mass-market AR glasses. The headset is also rumored to be very expensive, more so than what’s available in the market today, so much so that it is estimated that they might only sell as many as 200,000 units per year.
Perhaps the idea of this VR headset is to incorporate components and elements that would be used in the AR glasses and act as a test run of sorts, so that when the AR glasses are launched, it won’t be a flop. It will be interesting to see if this rumor pans out, especially since we haven’t really seen any indication that Apple could be interested in VR.
Filed in . Read more about Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Wearable Tech. Source: bloomberg