In the latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that Apple’s first AR/VR headset will be called “Reality Pro” or “Reality One”, according to the current trademark application. “Reality One”.
In this newsletter, Mark Gurman also details features related to Apple’s first AR / VR headset as summarised:
- Adapts to run most existing iPad apps in scenarios that incorporate augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (VR). These include Books, Cameras, Contacts, FaceTime, Files, Freeform, Home, Mail, Maps, Messages, Music, Notes, Photos, Reminders, Safari, Stocks, TV and Weather.
- Apple has introduced Wellness, a new meditation app: with immersive graphics, white noise and voice-overs.
- Requires no additional action (if anything, it’s very simple) and runs hundreds of thousands of existing third-party iPad apps from the App Store.
- Comes with a dedicated portal for watching various sporting events such as ball games.
- Apple will open a dedicated app store with a focus on games, inviting third-party app developers to develop games and apps for the headset.
- When connected to a Mac, the headset can act as an external monitor.
- Advanced video conferencing and virtual meeting rooms with realistic avatars, ideally giving people from all over the world the feeling of face-to-face communication.
- The Freeform app offers new collaboration tools that allow users to work on a virtual whiteboard and review work content together.
- A new VR-centric Fitness+ experience for exercising while wearing the headset (although this feature may not be available until later).
- A way to watch videos while immersed in a virtual environment, such as a desert scene or the sky.
- Users can control the headset in different ways using gestures, eyes and Siri. The headset can be used with Apple peripherals such as a keyboard.
- The headset comes with a dedicated charger and uses an external battery.
- Apple plans to launch a software development kit and a Mac-based headset simulator at WWDC 2023 in June.
