Apple’s next major product is ‘so good’, expert claims – and we could get a glimpse within WEEKS
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Apple’s next big product is just weeks away from launch – and an early review suggests it will live up to the hype.
Palmer Luckey, the 30-year-old American entrepreneur and founder of the Oculus VR platform, seems to have tried out the device.
Luckey, who sold his company Oculus to Meta for $3bn (£2.4bn) in 2014 aged 21, simply said in a tweet on Sunday, “The Apple headset is so good.”
Official details about Apple’s device are scarce, but it is believed that it will display notifications, messages, prompts and more right in front of the wearer’s eyes.
It’s not known how or where he tried the device, although Luckey is a big name in the VR industry.
Luckey, who sold his Oculus company to Meta for $3 billion in 2014 at the age of 21, simply said in a tweet, “The Apple headset is so good.”
Palmer Luckey, 30, who has developed a reputation for attending tech conferences in Hawaiian shirts and shorts, said Apple’s new device is “so good”
MailOnline has contacted the entrepreneur for more information.
Luckey, who started Oculus when he was only 15, is a video game enthusiast and owner of a defense company named Anduril Industries, founded in 2017.
More recently, he designed a headset called NerveGear that instantly “destroys the brain” of the user when they die in a virtual game.
Fortunately, Apple’s new headset – expected to be called ‘Reality Pro’ and released later this year – won’t be quite as lethal.
Publicly, Apple has not given credit to the upcoming device, but its existence is an open secret within the tech industry.
An American leaker named Mark Gurman, who has been trickling information about it in his weekly newsletter for months, says it “could replace the iPhone.”
Reality Pro will launch on Monday, June 5, the first day of Apple’s five-day Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), Gurman claims.
Apple confirmed the dates for WWDC in March, but made no official mention of the headset in the announcement.
The headset, which is expected to be called ‘Reality Pro’, will transport notifications, messages, directions and more from your iPhone to your eyes
A glimpse of the new headset? A cryptic promo image for this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) features curved colored lines
However, Apple’s promo image for WWDC this year features curved colored lines resembling the curved shape of a headset.
Reality Pro will hit stores in September, around the same time as the company’s next iPhone, Gurman said.
The headset “will start at around $3,000,” which is about twice as much as some of the most expensive smartphones on the market today.
Reality Pro superimposes digital images on the real environment – technology known as augmented realty (AR).
But it will also be capable of virtual reality (VR), meaning it will project completely virtual elements without the real background.
AR superimposes computer-generated imagery on top of an existing reality – Pokémon Go is a famous example – while VR is completely virtual, and mixed reality (MR) combines the two.
Whether it’s notifications, messages or directions, wearers can walk down the street and constantly see their device’s interface in AR, without having to take their iPhone out of their pocket.
When the wearer is stationary, the device can be switched to VR, ideal for playing games, watching movies or having online conversations with avatars.
Palmer Luckey recently designed a headset called NerveGear that instantly “destroys the brain” of the user when they die in a virtual game, thanks to three terrifying “explosive charge modules” aimed at the user’s skull
Reality Pro is expected to launch with its own operating system, xrOS, which will host familiar Apple apps, including FaceTime, Messages, and Maps.
Gurman thinks the headset will launch with a new portal for watching sports in VR as part of Apple’s push to stream live games and news.
There will also be advanced video conferencing and virtual meeting rooms with realistic avatars, giving users the feeling that they are communicating with each other in the same place.
According to another leaker, Ming-Chi Kuo, the Apple headset will be marketed as an iPhone accessory and the two will need to be paired.
Nevertheless, the headset will include sensors and proprietary processors – one “similar” used in its Mac computers and iPads, and another to manage “sensor-related aspects.”
It’s thought it will work with the iPhone so that any alerts coming in on the phone will show up on the headset, but the new product will give Apple fans a whole new level of immersion and touchless control.
Rival tech companies like Meta, Samsung, and Microsoft have already launched AR or VR headsets, but Reality Pro is expected to be more like using a smartphone, except it’s for your eyes.
Rival tech companies like Meta and Google have already launched AR or VR headsets, Pictured, Meta’s Quest Pro VR headset
Last fall, Meta launched its $1,499 mixed reality Meta Quest Pro VR headset, which boasts new features aimed at improving users’ perceptions of actually being in the presence of others.
However, Meta Quest Pro VR is mainly aimed at creative professionals, businesses and enthusiasts, so it shouldn’t be a direct rival to Reality Pro.
Other big sellers in the space include the HTC Vive brand, owned by Taiwanese company HTC, Samsung Gear VR and Microsoft’s mixed reality HoloLens headset – but these are pretty bulky devices aimed primarily at gamers or professionals.
Why is Apple releasing a mixed reality headset?
Apple has long been rumored to be developing an AR wearable; the tech giant filed a patent in 2019 that gives a glimpse of what it may be developing behind closed doors.
But work on the headset has been going on for nearly a decade.
According to Gurman, Reality Pro could be the next big platform next to the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, which was first released in 2015 to much hype.
Mark Gurman called the June 5 launch “one of the most critical events in the company’s history” and an opportunity “to usher in a post-iPhone era.”
With Reality Pro, Apple is preparing for a future beyond the iPhone and iPad, but executives are “clear on Apple’s challenges in entering this new market.”
While Gurman thinks the first version will be a “dud” in terms of sales compared to the company’s existing hardware, future versions will likely fare better as the product takes its place.
For now, Apple will have to explain to consumers why they would want such a device and how it’s an improvement over iPhone and iPad.
PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said the device will appeal to loyal fans and those who want “an immersive gaming and live event experience.”
Apple is rumored to be developing an AR wearable. The tech giant filed a patent in 2019 (pictured) that offers a glimpse into what it may be developing behind closed doors
But among the general public, acceptance and awareness of AR and VR technologies remains “lazy” and could hamper sales of the headset.
“The device will provide a much-needed boost and revitalize interest in the virtual and augmented reality market,” Pescatore told MailOnline.
“Ultimately, this is still in its early stages and has a long way to go before it hits the mass market and gains widespread acceptance.
“People are not quick to get out of their seats to buy a VR headset or even watch 360-degree videos.”
Pescatore also said that Apple “cannot rely on the iPhone alone forever” given fierce competition from rival companies in new product categories such as foldable devices.
“The company has placed a strong emphasis on the iPhone as a gateway to the Apple universe,” he said. “This could suggest it’s lagging behind new hardware.
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