- Apple's anticipated mixed reality headset will have auto-adjusting lenses, The Information reported.
- It will also have a physical dial that the wearer can use to switch between VR and real life.
Apple's anticipated mixed-reality headset will include auto-adjusting lenses and a physical dial that wearers can use to switch between VR and real life, The Information reported.
The company hasn't formally announced the mixed-reality headset, but The Information previously reported that it will look similar to ski goggles and have multiple cameras for both augmented and virtual reality. The latest version of Apple's AirPods Pro were reportedly built to sync with the headset.
The auto-adjusting lenses are meant to align the wearer's pupils with the headset displays so they can have the largest possible field of vision. People with glasses will reportedly be able to have custom prescription lenses that clip to the headset via magnets.
Apple, which has remained quiet about the product, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the anticipated headset or its features ahead of publication.
When it launches, the headset will be the newest product group since the Apple Watch was released in 2015. Apple has been working on the headset for seven years, Bloomberg previously reported, and initially planned to release it in 2019, The Information reported in May. The product was then scheduled to ship out by the end of 2022, a goal that Apple missed.
In December, the name of the headset's operating software was changed from "realityOS" to "xrOS," Bloomberg reported, adding that the headset hardware may also have the same name. The change to "xr," which stands for extended reality, signals that the headset will probably include both AR and VR capabilities.
The headset has faced setbacks for years as it's gone though different versions. The Technology Development Group, which is responsible for working on the headset, now has thousands of employees, but previously had to compete with other Apple teams for engineers.
As of early last year, the headset was in an assembly phase at Taiwanese manufacturer Pegatron, after passing several prototype stages and the engineering validation test to see if it could be mass produced, per The Information.
In December, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted that mass shipment of the Apple headsets could be delayed to the second half of 2023 "because of software-related issues." He predicted that the company will likely ship less than 500,000 headsets this year due to the product shipment being delayed.
The headset is expected to be at least $3,000, four people close to the project told The Information — double the price of Meta's first AR/VR headset, the Quest Pro.
As of early December, sales for VR headsets declined 2% from the previous year, CNBC reported. CCS Insight expects 2023 to be "another slow year" for AR and VR devices due to high inflation and a weak economy.