Apple to Release AR/VR Headset Next Year, Enlists Hollywood Directors to Develop Content [Report]

Apple's long rumored AR/VR headset will not be arriving this year, according to a new report from the New York Times.

The publication says Apple has been working Hollywood directors to develop content for the device and will ship it next year.

The company has enlisted Hollywood directors such as Jon Favreau to develop video content for a headset that it is expected to ship next year, according to three people familiar with that work. Mr. Favreau, an executive producer of “Prehistoric Planet” on Apple TV+, is working to bring that show’s dinosaurs to life on the headset, which looks like a pair of ski goggles and aims to offer virtual- and augmented-reality experiences, these people said.


Apple reportedly tasked Mike Rockwell, an engineer hired from Dolby Technologies, to lead its headset project. Early efforts were hobbled by weak computing power but continued battery challenges are allegedly the reason the release has been postponed until next year.

Notably, the AR initiative has been divisive within the company. The report says that at least two members of Apple's industrial design team have left the company over concerns about developing a product that changes how people interact with each other.

Despite these concerns, tech companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Meta are all racing to develop hardware and software that will let users create and interact with virtual environments. Apple isn't expected to focus on this mixed reality work at WWDC; however, it could unveil software tools that let apps add new camera and voice functionality. These features could be the building blocks for a hands-free interface that customers will eventually use to navigate on the headset

Apple's WWDC 2022 keynote is expected to focus on existing operating systems but the company could use the event to unveil a redesigned MacBook Air with slimmer borders and updated processors.


More details in the full report linked below...

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