Sources: Apple is working on VR versions of FaceTime and Maps, SwiftUI for AR and VR apps, and extending a Mac's display to its headset, bringing it into 3D

Bloomberg 2022-06-06 Mark Gurman

Context & Ripple Effects

Apple’s headset work had previously been tied to a longer hardware path, from 3D sensing planned for iPads and iPhones to a reported NextVR acquisition. This report adds the software layer: Apple’s existing communications, mapping, and Mac workflows are being adapted rather than leaving the device dependent on entirely new uses.

Later coverage fills in the intended platform architecture with a 3D iOS-like interface and Mac display capability and a broader slate of headset services across collaboration, fitness, sports, and gaming. That makes SwiftUI support significant as a route for third-party apps alongside Apple’s own software.

First-order effects

Apple’s FaceTime and Maps teams must translate established iOS and Mac experiences into headset-native interfaces, while Mac users are positioned to treat the headset as a 3D external display.
SwiftUI support gives Apple developers a stated framework for building AR and VR apps, connecting the headset to an existing Apple development toolchain.

Second-order effects

The Mac-display feature makes the headset’s early value proposition partly dependent on Mac workflows, increasing pressure on Apple to make cross-device continuity feel native rather than peripheral.
A platform built around Apple services and SwiftUI raises the value of third-party apps that complement collaboration and spatial computing, a direction later reflected in headset plans spanning collaboration and other services.

Third-order effects

If Apple continues to adapt its core apps and development frameworks for spatial interfaces, headset competition shifts toward control of the software ecosystem and cross-device workflow, not hardware alone.
The pattern points to spatial computing becoming another Apple application surface, where the installed developer base and linked Mac workflows determine how quickly utility extends beyond first-party apps.

The trend: Apple’s headset effort is evolving from a standalone device project into a spatial extension of its services, developer tools, and Mac workflow.

Discussion

@mingchikuo @mingchikuo on x
(2/2) 2H22 shipment forecast of new MBA is 6-7mn units if Quanta's Shanghai capacity can be back to pre-lockdown level before 3Q22. Delivery for new MBA made by two EMS (Quanta the 1st & Foxconn the 2nd) should be better than existing 14"/16" MacBook Pro (shipped by Quanta only).
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Power On: Apple's mixed reality headset will dominate WWDC—even without being there. New details on the device and realityOS, the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, iOS 16 and more https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@migueldeicaza Miguel de Icaza on x
My first WWDC was in 2010, and it was both great and awkward. Apple had introduced rule 3.3.1 and it cast doubts about the future of our C# compiler for iOS. I have always enjoyed the event, but the sense of being seen as a barbarian at the gate has never left me. https://twitter…
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Here's what I said about the MacBook Air and possibility of a new 13 inch MacBook Pro https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@collindonnell Collin Donnell on x
Listening to ATP this week and I'm still confused about SwiftUI. Marco and Casey's experience sounds like mine — constantly hitting walls — but I also heard from people saying they've been working in SwiftUI exclusively for two years and have multiple production Mac apps.
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
If Apple announces an AR device tomorrow, there will not be hundreds of millions of users in 2023, no matter how amazingly cool it is (obvious, perhaps, but somehow needs to be pointed out)
@scobleizer Robert Scoble on x
Apple will show off a new 3D datatype that AI developers call “neural radiance fields” or NeRFs. What does this really mean? We are headed into a photorealistic augmented world. https://twitter.com/...
@samifathi_ @samifathi_ on x
Tomorrow, the first day of #WWDC22, will mark 1,000 days since @Apple had its last in-person audience for an #AppleEvent (Sept 2019). You're telling me they won't show *any hardware*? Not buying it. https://twitter.com/...
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
that's the sound of heavy breathing coming from Meta HQ https://twitter.com/...
@rsgnl Joe Rossignol on x
Not many rumors about an Apple silicon Mac Pro being unveiled at #WWDC22 tomorrow, so I am keeping my expectations low, but both the 2013 and 2019 models of the Mac Pro were previewed at WWDC and launched in December in each of those years.
@seyitaylor @seyitaylor on x
@petergyang and they have a lynchpin with the users in the iPhone that Meta doesn't have.
@sadlyitsbradley Brad Lynch on x
@JamesX08fu Bingo. It's likely going to be a historic WWDC for features that will come to XR As Gurman recently said: “I think we'll get a ton of new clues at this year's conference and that the device will hit stores next year (an arrival in the US first is under consideration, …
@wongmjane @wongmjane on x
I wish @BeatSaber would be available on Apple's AR/VR headset if they ever release one But Meta acquired @BeatGamesStudio a while back, so I'm not sure the likeness they'd make it available on realityOS in the future. Still wishing it'd happen though
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
Worth remember just how long it took for iPod and iPhone sales to take off (Watch never disclosed but looked similar). Apple is almost never ‘first’, but equally, the v1 Apple product is often an MVP https://twitter.com/...
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
Apple only sold 380k iPods in the first year and 5.7m in the first three years. The iPhone was the same - only 5m units in the first year and it took 4 years for sales to take off.
@cixliv @cixliv on x
@alexeheath It will be, the Google vs Apple of the smart phone age. Although I wouldn't underestimate TikTok/Bytedance. They may have enough money to take a decent piece.
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
With Apple perhaps launching a new platform on Monday, worth thinking about how the Apple watch has been a huge hit but failed to become a vibrant developer ecosystem - as did iMessage, Facebook Messenger, the iPad and Alexa
@jcfmunoz @jcfmunoz on x
“Apple is also working on a new version of SwiftUI for building AR and VR apps. The system will predictably work closely with RealityKit and Metal.” ✌🏻 https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@patrickmcgee_ Patrick McGee on x
An 'iPhone Moment" for headsets is an unlikely paradigm. More likely: a “Mac moment,” in which an expensive device sees adoption among the professional class before going mainstream.
@k17ubha @k17ubha on x
Tim Cook really woke up and decided to ruin Zuckerberg's whole empire https://twitter.com/...
@samueldrozdov Sam Drozdov on x
Convinced “extend a Mac's[/computer] display” will be the primary VR use case & how Apple competes with the Quest. We use computers everyday. Improve that ux for a path to adoption. + why spend money on a display when there is a headset that creates infinite display space? https:…
@jamesx08fu @jamesx08fu on x
@SadlyItsBradley They'll probably be some AR demos on stage but the devil is in the details, many of the stuff that is a perfect fit for AR/VR won't look like that at first glance, the real fun is when you dig through their sessions after the keynote and the dots start to connect…
@klingebeil Johannes Klingebiel on x
The discourse about the usefulness of these things will be so tiresome. https://twitter.com/...
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
can't wait for this Apple headset to finally come out so I can stop having to convince folks that Apple v Meta is the next big tech platform battle for years to come https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
@scottastevenson Scott Stevenson on x
@Jason @facebook For better or for worse, I think FB will get their revenge on the AR/VR battlefront. They are years ahead and have already captured a young generation of users. Apple hasn't shown they can ship anything radically new without Jobs and Ive
@nahiyanahmad @nahiyanahmad on x
If this holds true, Apple's first VR headset will put key features in place to transition mobile away from handhelds to head-mounted devices. Not quite all the way there, but still, planting the seeds for a future where headsets will be a viable option for mobile. https://twitter…
@petergyang Peter Yang on x
@seyitaylor Meta is doubling down on VR since they want to own the hardware + software but I have a feeling that Apple might leapfrog. They're great at being the second mover.
@jason @jason on x
FB creates worlds greatest ad targeting FB buys Oculus as next platform after smartphones Apple launch's modest ad product Apple plans AR/VR platform Apple destroys @facebook tracking on privacy grounds tanks FB revenue/stock Apple launches personalized advertising 🤌 https://twit…
@patrickmcgee_ Patrick McGee on x
Another scenario is “Apple Watch moment” - a consumer-focused product that underwhelms at first but sets the state for future success. Arguably this is what Meta is doing with Oculus Quest 2 (which is just $299).
@patrickmcgee_ Patrick McGee on x
VR is all the hype today. Meta's Oculus Quest has a 78pc market share, with ~10mn unit sales last year. That's pretty pretty niche. But if Apple cracks AR, Goldman Sachs reckons such headsets would see rapid adoption “on a trajectory not too far below that of the iPhone.”
@johnwilson John Wilson on x
Exciting. Also, I would expect significant improvements to Siri because it'll likely be a primary input method for AR/VR. https://twitter.com/...

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