Report details the development of Apple's MR headset as sources say Jony Ive remains involved as an external consultant and the device is not focused on gaming
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors : Source: The Information .
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple's headset work had already been shaped by delays and internal resistance to an earlier VR-first concept. The reported continued role for Jony Ive suggests Apple was still treating industrial design and product definition as active decisions rather than settled implementation details.
The later reporting on eye and hand tracking, an iOS-like interface, and both AR and VR modes gives the non-gaming positioning a clearer product arc: Apple was developing a general-purpose spatial interface, not framing the device around a single entertainment use case.
First-order effects
- Apple's headset team is positioned around uses beyond gaming, affecting how the product is defined for prospective users and software partners.
- Jony Ive's external consulting role keeps a design voice connected to the headset program even after his departure from Apple's day-to-day organization.
Second-order effects
- A non-gaming pitch raises the importance of interface, productivity, and mixed-reality software capabilities; the later-reported Mac display feature and iOS-like interface fit that requirement.
- Apple's extended development cycle gives its executive and product teams more time to reconcile the design priorities that had contributed to the headset's earlier delays.
Third-order effects
- If Apple sustains this positioning, mixed-reality competition will be defined less narrowly by games and more by whether hardware, interaction design, and existing computing ecosystems work together.
- The headset program illustrates a broader shift toward spatial devices being treated as new personal-computing interfaces, with product design leadership carrying strategic weight alongside technical execution.
The trend: Apple's MR effort is part of the move to position spatial computing as a general-purpose interface rather than a gaming peripheral.
Related: Apple · Jony · Earlier report on headset development delays · Later report on headset features and interface
Related Coverage
- Wayne Ma: Why Apple's prototype headset has 14 cameras Philip Elmer‑DeWitt
- Apple reportedly chose a standalone AR / VR headset over a more powerful tethered design The Verge
- Making sense of the latest rumors about Apple's looming AR and Mixed Reality headsets 9to5Mac
- Apple's AR/VR mixed reality headset will likely be a standalone device Pocket-lint
- Apple had to make tough choices about final design of AR/VR headset The Economic Times
- Apple's headset faced numerous snags early, Jony Ive still involved with project AppleInsider
- Apple's AR/VR headset sounds mental! getrevue.co
- Futuristic Qualcomm AR glasses go wireless for the first time BGR
- Former Apple Design Chief Jony Ive Is Still Involved With the AR Headset Project, but in an External Capacity Wccftech
- Apple's VR/AR headset report just revealed a major weakness Tom's Guide
- Apple Mixed Reality Headset Won't Focus on Gaming; Jony Ive Remains Involved in Development: Report iPhone Hacks
- Apple's Headset Said To Feature 14 Cameras Enabling Lifelike Avatars Slashdot
- Jony Ive-Designed Apple Headset to Reportedly Feature 14 Cameras iPhone in Canada Blog
- Report Details The Troubled Development Delaying Apple's AR/VR Headset UploadVR
- Jony Ive is reportedly still involved with Apple's AR/VR headset project MobileSyrup
- Apple AR/VR headset primed to revolutionize virtual reality BGR
- Apple is reportedly jamming 14 cameras into its mixed reality headset Input
- Apple's mixed reality headset challenges from Jony Ive to battery life, heat, cost, and lack of discipline 9to5Mac
- Apple's rumored AR headset takes a huge step toward becoming a reality Macworld
- Apple's mixed-reality headset may launch anytime soon: Report TechCircle
- Apple Has Reportedly Shown Its AR/VR Headset To Board Of Directors Fossbytes
- Apple's VR headset will be standalone device, but not focused on gaming iMore
- Apple AR/VR headset won't focus on gaming Cult of Mac
- Behind the Apple Design Decisions That Bogged Down Its Mixed-Reality Headset The Information
Discussion
-
@sadlyitsbradley
Brad Lynch
on x
“Prior to 2019, [Apple's VR project group] had a freewheeling culture, operating almost like a startup within Apple” “Employees brainstormed features and experimented with ideas that might never see the light of day.” Sounds similar to another certain company I report on 🤣
-
@cixliv
@cixliv
on x
2023 is the next big hype year for XR. For the lazy TLDR: XR more than any other technology industry waits on hardware improvements. Hardware is slow and generally sits in R&D, until one big tech company releases a product. A thread on the why 2023 will be huge 👇
-
@sadlyitsbradley
Brad Lynch
on x
“Apple isn't developing game controllers for the device and is aiming to use hand tracking or in combination with a clothespin-like finger clip as inputs for the device, multiple people familiar with the project say.” Oh boy.
-
@dennycloudhead
@dennycloudhead
on x
If the “finger clip” has great haptics, it could cover some edge cases but...Hand tracking, even “great” hand tracking, remains a weirdly disconnected sensation. Good for utilitarian. Again, looking down your nose at “gaming” in the XR space seems like a HUGE blunder Apple. https…
-
@scobleizer
Robert Scoble
on x
@SadlyItsBradley Everyone forgets the iPhone. It'll be a pretty amazing controller for many uses. Now, a Call of Duty user will want better. Will have to wait to see if Apple does something for them, but it doesn't sound like it. Either way, Apple has a lot of patents on gloves e…
-
@cixliv
@cixliv
on x
Then we have Sony coming with the PSVR2, Snapchat, Niantic, Magic Leap, Pico (now billions from Bytedance money), startups like Lynx, HTC, Varjo, and Valve waiting in the shadows. Unlike the last few years, we will have real market competition!
-
@cixliv
@cixliv
on x
@HoloBeard This market will be completely blitzed by a Apple headset release. And all the other companies will have to quickly release their response.
-
@cixliv
@cixliv
on x
XR companies are used to a hard investor market. XR will have its second big hype train since the Oculus acquisition in 2023. I'm calling it now. Investors sleeping on the space, will miss out if they don't take it serious now.
-
@neilcybart
Neil Cybart
on x
Mixed reality will introduce the idea of sharing real-world experiences with others via a digital space. Examples include “attending” everything from live sports events and awards shows to theatrical plays from the comfort of one's home.
-
@darth
@darth
on x
i sincerely hope apple releases two models of this headset one with and one without the added expense of the outward facing screen i just do not need that other screen i can not even see it when i am using this headset tim apple why do i have to pay more for it
-
@cixliv
@cixliv
on x
So what? Well this means everyone needs an answer. The only thing that scares @Meta is the feds, and Apple. Meta's response to this headset will be the “Cambria” potentially “Quest Pro” when it's released. This will basically be a less powerful version of the Apple headset.
-
@julianward
Julian Ward
on x
@CixLiv No controllers for Apple 🥽👎🏼
-
@scobleizer
Robert Scoble
on x
And, yes, if you really care about privacy this will be a tough pill to swallow. That said, once you see just how much better screens are inside this than in the real world many of you will give up these fears.
-
@cixliv
@cixliv
on x
Summary: 2023 will be big with so much new hardware. - Increase potential of horizontal startups. - Loosen tight policies of existing companies to be competitive. - Increase market size. - Increase chance of exits + investment. Startups will have a fighting chance. Go time!
-
@cixliv
@cixliv
on x
So first things first. Unlike blockchain, web, consoles, mobile, AI etc. The XR industry is hard gated by hardware improvements. I've tweeted about this before. https://twitter.com/... Basically without big hardware advances, XR stays a heavy brick with limited use-cases.
-
@neilcybart
Neil Cybart
on x
There have been plenty of signs and clues pointing to Apple moving into mixed reality (sooner rather than later too). Everything from FaceTime SharePlay and Live Text in Photos to M&A and Apple continuing to go hard on Memoji. https://www.aboveavalon.com/ ... https://twitter.com/…
-
@cixliv
@cixliv
on x
@julianward well yes, Apple has never been a fan of controllers. Will likely have the best industry hand tracking tough, and probably work with some form of hand/wrist worn IMUs in the form of a watch (rumors are of a thimble)?
-
@cixliv
@cixliv
on x
So what's changing? #1 Apple headset. It could bomb, it could be a small deal, it could do really well. All hypotheticals. What is not a hypothetical: Apple entering a market validates it, increases investment and acquisitions. The “Apple Effect”.
-
@nickwingfield
Nick Wingfield
on x
Why Apple needs 14 cameras (14!) in its mixed-reality headset and other great insights into what Apple's secretive project has been up to for the past few years by @waynema in @theinformation https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
-
@gassee
@gassee
on x
14 cameras? How can a project like this ever converge? How about an exponential explosion of bugs? Affordable? https://t.co/FvWk2uAj1R
-
@scobleizer
Robert Scoble
on x
That is a lot of cameras. Now my expectations are even higher. Cameras will be aimed at weird places, like at your eyes and ears to make things sound way better and give us new user interfaces that are controlled by our eyes. Next year is gonna be wild! https://t.co/QslKXhhP4b
-
@_chuckyc
Charlie Chapman
on x
“The initial version of Apple's headset is said to lack a focus on gaming” I'm so confused as to what Apple's narrative around this product will be. I'm struggling to imagine one of their classic ads showing how this product enhances your life https://twitter.com/...
-
@markdistef
Mark Di Stefano
on x
The level of detail in @waynema's latest about the development of Apple's mixed-reality headset is truly immense. https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
-
@shortformernie
Ernie Smith
on x
Lo and behold, Jony Ive screwed it up. https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
-
@alexqgb
Alex Bowles
on x
“Two people said even after Ive left Apple, some employees on the headset project were still required to make the trek from Cupertino to San Francisco, where Ive has a home, to get his approval on changes.” https://twitter.com/...
-
@waynema
Wayne Ma
on x
Lifelike avatars, multiple chips and ambivalence for gaming. Apple's decision to change direction in 2019 for its mixed-reality headset has had lasting repercussions on the project. Check out part 2 of my deep dive on its AR/VR team for @theinformation https://www.theinformation.…