Apple is working on an Augmented Reality based headset: Report

Cupertino-based technology giant Apple may be developing an Augmented Reality (AR) based headset, similar to Microsoft’s Hololens. This AR based headset could work with the user’s iPhone and put user in a world of augmented reality where computer generated images and graphics are overlaid on to the real world.

According to a report by CNET, the news came as an iPhone engineer published an update titled, ‘Systems, methods and graphical user interfaces for interacting with Augmented and Virtual Reality environments.’ The title is reported to be a part of an existing patent filed by the Cupertino based technology company in August 2018. The patent states that the AR headset could be connected with a computer or an iPhone wirelessly and give the user an experience into the AR world. Apple might also put a ‘touch-sensitive surface’ on the AR so that the user could interact with the environment. The report also mentioned that Apple might release the AR headset next year.

The report further mentioned that Apple is developing prototypes for its AR headset. And these prototypes had a cordless device which could connect and communicate with other separate devices which are powered by the Apple’s processing brain wirelessly. This basically means that the company wishes to add another product which could be used in the ‘Apple Ecosystem’.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) has garnered a fair bit of popularity since the last couple of year. Not just Apple, but other major technological giants are incorporating the technologies in their devices. It was last week when software giant Microsoft launched its newest product – Hololens 2, which is an upgraded version of Hololens. The device is priced at $3,500 (approximately Rs 2,48,500).

The first version of Hololens was launched three years ago in 2016 and Microsoft announced the Hololens 2 at MWC 2019, Barcelona, Spain. According to Microsoft, Hololens 2 comes with more functions, power, accessibility and ease of usage with a new computer system. With the newly launched device, users could directly manipulate the holograms projected through the AR headset like they would manipulate the objects in real world.