Apple is ramping up work on its mixed reality headset ahead of its 2023 launch
The headset will likely be priced between $2,000 and $3,000 and will pack a Mac-level M2 chip, more than 10 cameras located outside and inside the device, and the highest resolution displays ever featured in a mass-market headset.
Apple’s mixed-reality headset won’t arrive until next year, but job postings and staffing changes at the company provide a preview of some of the device’s capabilities, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in his latest newsletter.
Gurman also noted that Apple’s job postings published over the past few months hint at changes to the team behind the future headset — the Technology Development Group, or TDG.
“A few job postings indicate that Apple is ramping up its efforts to bolster its content unit. The company is seeking a software developer with experience in visual effects and game assets who can create digital content for augmented and virtual reality environments,” he added.
“We are looking for a software engineer to work with the App Intents framework to help design and implement solutions to unlock deep system intelligence, enable new developer tools, and facilitate new user interactions from application data models leveraged by a variety of systems. services such as shortcuts, Siri, Search and more,” says a job listing for the TDG department.
The most interesting job posting is one that specifically mentions the development of a 3D mixed-reality world, suggesting that Apple is working on a virtual environment similar to the metaverse — but don’t expect Apple to embrace that term.
This listing describes collaboration with other developers to “build tools and frameworks to enable connected experiences in a 3D mixed reality world.”
“You’ll work closely with Apple’s UI framework, human interface designers, and system capabilities teams — pushing you to think outside the box and solve incredibly challenging and interesting problems in the 3D application space,” it said.
With the new additions, Apple is also reportedly bringing back a former senior member of its self-driving car unit: Dave Scott. Scott left the company in early 2021 at a time when several pictures were closing. But he returned after a short stint as CEO of Hyperfine, a healthcare company that builds mobile MRI machines.
Scott is known for his work in the medical and robotics industries – and for making complex products ready to ship. His involvement may suggest some health applications for the headset.
Gurman also added that Apple recently moved Yaniv Gur, a senior director of engineering, to its headset team. Gur joined Apple more than 20 years ago as part of an acquisition that also brought in Roger Rosner, its vice president of applications and the pioneer of the iWork productivity apps.
“The headset will likely be priced between $2,000 and $3,000 and will pack a Mac-level M2 chip, more than 10 cameras located outside and inside the device, and the highest resolution screens ever featured in a mass-market headset,” Gurman added .
He had also reported in August that Apple is behind the trademark registrations for “Reality Pro” and “Reality One,” suggesting the company is choosing between those two brands for the device. The “Reality” moniker makes sense given the operating system name and existing Apple AR development tools like RealityKit.
