What you need to know
- Apple is reportedly ready to launch its first mixed reality headset in 2022.
- A new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has Apple's first headset offering "high-quality virtual reality" games.
Apple has long been rumored to have plans to launch some sort of mixed reality headset and reports from September suggested that might happen as soon as the second half of 2022. now, a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that we should expect that first headset to be capable of some "high-quality virtual reality" gaming.
Writing in his weekly Power On newsletter, Gurman says that the upcoming headset won't only be there to show us where the closest Panera Bread is. Instead, he says, the device will also be capable of playing high-end games thanks to its virtual reality component.
Apple's first headset will be of the mixed reality variety. That means it will have both AR and VR capabilities. While gaming can be done in both environments, virtual reality is what you want for seriously high-performance games with top-tier graphics. For Apple's first headset, that's what it's shooting for: a mixed reality experience that can handle games in high-quality virtual reality with snappy chips and high-end displays.
It isn't clear where Gurman is getting that information, but we'd heard previously that the new headset will be a powerhouse that makes use of Apple's own silicon. Given the performance leveraged by Apple's recent M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, it seems entirely possible that a headset could capable of the power needed to handle gaming.
Apple's best chips also make the latest MacBook Pros the best Macs for professionals of all kinds, whether they are digital artists, videographers, or work in a different field entirely. The chips are only half the story of course — the new machines also see the return of various ports along with MagSafe.
