WWDC 2023 is just around the corner. With a possible announcement of Apple’s Reality Pro headset, which will combine AR and VR technologies, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman has made a roundup of everything he expects the Cupertino firm to introduce during its first event of the year — including some brand-new information.
Regarding the mixed reality headset, Gurman says Apple could give it at least three different names: Reality Pro, Reality One, or XR Pro. Since many people have trouble calling the iPhone XR (Ten-R), it’s probably the best approach – including worldwide – if Apple bets on Reality Pro or Reality One, names that “can’t go wrong,” as the ” XR (Extended Reality) Pro” vibe will only make sense in a few markets.
That said, Gurman says this headset will have ultra-premium glass, carbon, fiber, and aluminum material, and it will look like a high-tech pair of ski goggles with a new magnetic charger and curved front with an external screen.
The Reality Pro headset will be powered by an M2 chip with 16GB of RAM, and it will require an external battery pack that looks like a larger version of the MagSafe Battery Pack. In addition, users will operate the device using eye, hand control, and Siri, as the device will feature an array of microphones as speakers mounted near the user’s temples – although AirPods will be required for enhanced spatial audio immersion.
Another interesting piece of information regards a special hands-on area inside Apple Park where the company will conduct hands-on press demos of the Reality Pro headset. Gurman says “some attendees and media” will be able to try the device for the first time, although it will likely ship at the end of the year or early 2024.
Lastly, the journalist says a “snap-in prescription lens system will play a significant role in the headset’s introduction” as it’s too slim to support wearing normal glasses. Not only that, but Apple is discussing notifying potential customers with certain conditions that they shouldn’t buy the device.
