Leading global tech firm Apple is expected to release its long-awaited augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) headset by 2023, Bloomberg reported last week.
Bloomberg claims that production challenges related to device overheating, cameras, and software development problems have caused the most recent delays.
The report added the earliest shipping date for Apple’s headset would be 2022, although the Cupertino-based firm has not confirmed the shipping window.
It also rumoured that Apple planned to unveil a pair of AR smart glasses similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban Stories and Snapchat’s own upcoming AR spectacles.
This delay comes after reports emerged in October last year the company would launch its headset in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Apple’s M-1 Computer Power
The news comes after a wave of announcements and advancements towards the release of its anticipated extended reality (XR) headset, namely after Veteran Apple Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed numerous details about Apple’s upcoming XR hardware.
In a recent tweet, the analyst said Apple’s XR headset would feature a 96W USB-C power adapter, similarly to Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro.
In the same tweet, Kuo stated Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC) would supply Apple with 5-nanometre and 4-nanometre chipsets.
Last November, he also tweeted that the delayed headset will contain Apple’s M1 chip, offering similar performance as its laptops.
Also, the trusted analyst said Apple would include a separate chipset to support sensor-related computing for potential commercial and enterprise-grade use cases, as well as offer standalone computing capabilities along with PC tethering, contrary to previous reports.
2021: The Year of the Patent
The news comes after Apple secured a series of technology patents last year to tease an exciting future for the firm’s XR journey.
The Cupertino-based tech firm first secured a patent for a real-time 3D (RT3D) spatial audio system that replicates interior sound waves and acoustics, and later the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awarded various patents for experimental XR input devices and software, including:
Apple may introduce further exclusive features as built-in functions, such as facial biometrics and advanced 3D Time of Flight (ToF) modules that measure distances between real-world objects.
