US tech giant Apple Inc will may require users to link an upcoming mixed reality (MR) headset to iPhones or Mac computers to offload more demanding tasks, the Information reported this week.
The Information states Apple the headset will include an future system-on-a-chip (SoC), which does not offer processing capabilities similar to other products.
The SoC will focus more on wirelessly transmitting and receiving data as well as video transfers, rather than computing artificial intelligence as with the M1’s neural engine, indicating the headset could prioritise streaming information over being a standalone device, the report added.
According to two sources familiar with the matter, Apple designed the headset to provide power efficiency and functions similarly to the Apple Watch, which reroutes heavy tasks to tethered iPhones.
The news follows a 2020 Bloomberg report, which found earlier designs would work with a “stationary hub, which in prototype form resembled a small Mac.” But Tim Cook, Apple Chief Executive, agreed with then-company Design Chief Jony Ive that the device should remain self-contained.
Despite this, the Information continues, stating the MR headset will include a CPU and GPU, and could potentially work with a second Apple device or as a standalone unit.
The report added it would contain an “unusually large” image sensor the size of the headsets lenses, which aims to “capture high-resolution image data from a user’s surroundings for AR.”
The difficult to manufacture component will reportedly offer higher quality AR imaging compared to Facebook’s Passthrough API, according to the Verge.
Updates on Future Apple MR Headset
The news comes as reports revealed numerous patents for the upcoming head-mounted display, which included a mixed reality user interface (UI) along with hand gesture support,
Apple also registered patents for improved facial and emotion tracking, an updated air conditioning unit, and other such updates.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted the Cupertino-based company would launch its MR headset by mid-2022, adding the devices would be designed in a three-phase “MR/AR roadmap”.
Conversely, Facebook’s Oculus Quest lineup recently updated its headsets with its ‘Airlink’ tool, which allows users to wirelessly stream devices with a high-speed WiFi signal.
