Report claims Apple's AR/VR headset has moved beyond production tests

Apple Vr
Apple Vr (Image credit: The Information)

What you need to know

  • Apple has reportedly finished production tests of its rumored mixed reality headset.
  • More information should be available when DigiTimes publishes its full report tomorrow.
  • Apple's headset is expected to arrive before the end of 2022.

Apple's heavily rumored mixed reality headset is said to be moving closer to an unveiling with a new report claiming that the unannounced headset has passed the latest round of production tests.

Amid rumors that Apple could announce its mixed reality headset headset this year — a claim made by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and later qualified with the news that things could be delayed until next year — DigiTimes reports that the company's production tests are progressing well. The DigiTimes report was a sneak peak at a more full report that will be made available tomorrow, however, meaning hard information is lacking for now.

However, the preview does suggest that sources in the suppliers of headset components have pointed to a launch by the end of this year after the EVT 2 stage of testing was completed. That round of testing is designed to make sure that manufacturers can produce products to Apple's specification and requirements, at least on a small scale.

While there have been rumors swirling around the idea of an AR/VR headset for years, little concrete information is known at this point. We've seen mentions of realityOS in recent App Store logs and features like speedy Apple silicon and 4K displays are heavily rumored.

Unfortunately, it does sound likely that Apple's first mixed reality headset will be a costly one — reports of prices north of $2,000 have been floating around for months which suggests this won't be a huge seller for Apple, at least initially.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.