Kuo: Apple AR headset to launch in late 2022 with an M1-like chip and no tethering to a Mac or an iPhone; Apple wants to replace the iPhone with AR in 10 years
Apple's long-rumored augmented reality (AR) headset project is set to bear its first fruit late next year with the launch …
MacRumorsEric Slivka
Context & Ripple Effects
Earlier coverage described an Apple headset that would rely on the iPhone for rendering and connectivity, while an even earlier report envisioned displays linked wirelessly to a separate compute box. The latest report marks a clear architectural change: Apple is said to be putting M1-like processing in the headset itself.
That matters because the reported long-term ambition is not to extend the iPhone as an accessory, but to make AR hardware a potential successor device category.
First-order effects
Apple’s reported headset design would no longer require buyers to pair it with a Mac or iPhone, making the headset responsible for its own compute and connectivity.
The iPhone shifts from being the proposed rendering and connectivity hub in earlier coverage to a device Apple reportedly intends AR to displace over the longer term.
Second-order effects
A self-contained headset raises the importance of Apple’s in-device silicon strategy, rather than tying the product’s experience to the installed base of iPhones or Macs.
Developers targeting Apple AR would have a more distinct hardware platform to support, instead of treating the headset chiefly as an iPhone-connected display.
Third-order effects
If Apple follows through on the stated replacement goal, its product strategy moves toward standalone spatial-computing devices rather than phone-dependent accessories.
The progression from a proposed iPhone-tethered design to reported onboard compute suggests differentiation in AR will center on integrated hardware and software, not merely companion-device features.
The trend: Apple’s reported AR plans point to a shift from companion wearables toward standalone, silicon-defined computing devices positioned alongside—and eventually against—the smartphone.
Personally, I don't think the iPhone will ever be completely replaced by Apple's AR headsets. Like the iPad and MacBook, I suspect AR headsets and smartphones will co-exist, simply becoming extensions of eachother. https://twitter.com/...
@sadlyitsbradley
Brad Lynch on x
Analyst Kuo mentions Apple will be using dual 4K OLED MICRODISPLAYS from Sony for their VR/AR HMD And equipped with two processors. An M1-type processor and a lower-end processor in charge of sensor-related computing (passthrough AR) https://www.macrumors.com/...
@sawyermerritt
Sawyer Merritt on x
NEWS: Apple AR Headset Coming Late 2022 With Mac-Level Computing Power • M1-Like Chip • Independent Operation (no iPhone required) • Support a Comprehensive Range of Applications. Replace iPhone Within 10 years • Two 4K Micro OLED displays from Sony https://www.macrumors.com/...
@mikalfm
@mikalfm on x
This ain't happening. (AR replacing smartphones) Phone is too good a form factor to be displaced, it will only be augmented. https://www.techmeme.com/...
@cixliv
CIX.eth on x
@saicon_ Apple comes out with a headset soon with the leaps ahead in their chips Well... it's going to not be good for everyone else
@stevekovach
Steve Kovach on x
Per Kuo: Apple glasses will have a version of the M1 processor, which Apple uses in Macs. Those processors have been universally praised for their power and efficiency. https://twitter.com/...
@scobleizer
Scoble on x
We have been waiting eight years already for Apple's visual headphone. I wrote three books in that time about the technology. Less than one to go. https://twitter.com/...
@cixliv
CIX.eth on x
The real battle of XR is the chip makers. Qualcomm vs Apple (for now) Why? Well, what is holding back XR the most? Field of View Graphics Resolution Size Weight Heat Cost Battery Life What improves all of that? *drumroll* The chip powering the headset. This is a chip war.
@stroughtonsmith
Steve Troughton-Smith on x
On the idea of ‘AR replacing the iPhone’, it certainly has the potential to. And desktop computing. Virtually nobody believed the smartphone would replace the PC, but that's the reality for a great many people — it didn't take 10 years, either. Whither AR in 20? 50? 100 years?
@cixliv
CIX.eth on x
Also part of this Hand Tracking Object Recognition Facial tracking Body tracking Well basically everything is being limited by what the mobile chips can do Using low enough energy without producing too much heat.