Apple’s mixed reality headset has been leaked repeatedly, and we have some more details about it now with a new leak. Mark Gurman, in his latest Power On newsletter, spilled some new details about the headset. Apparently, the headset, which has been delayed several times, will be more standalone than we would have expected.
Gurman says Apple’s mixed reality headset won’t need an iPhone for setup or use. He also discussed an “in-air typing” system for the headset, which seems to be currently in testing on the latest prototypes.
In-air typing to eliminate the need for iPhone for setup, but “finicky in testing”
Gurman noted that the in-air typing feature is being tested on the latest internal prototypes. However, it’s been finicky in testing so far. This feature is meant to eliminate the need for an iPhone for typing, it appears, but may not be perfect at launch, says Gurman.
Gurman said, “A key feature for text input — in-air typing — is available on the latest internal prototypes, I’m told. But it’s been finicky in testing. So if you get the first headset, you still may want to pair an iPhone to use its touch-screen keyboard. The hope within Apple is to make rapid improvements after the device is released. The company expects its headset to follow the same path as the original Apple Watch in that respect.“
Gurman said that the latest versions of the device running Apple’s xrOS can be set up without an iPhone. He added the headset pulls user data from iCloud. Gurman also said that follow-up devices to the first mixed-reality headset from Apple are already in the works.
It appears Apple will try to polish its XR experience with upcoming generations, which means that the very first one may not be for everybody. Regardless, it looks like we have a ton of Apple VR stuff in store, starting with the first one launching in late 2023.